Municipal Polls: Congress intensifies efforts to win ULBs with hung verdicts

With hung verdicts in 38 Urban Local Bodies, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed Congress leaders to step up efforts to secure control, particularly by engaging Independent candidates.

Hyderabad: In the wake of hung verdicts in about 38 Urban Local Bodies and with the election of Mayors and Chairpersons scheduled for Monday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed senior party leaders to ensure that the Congress captured as many ULBs as possible.

The leaders, particularly MLAs and in-charge Ministers, were asked to remain cautious and focus on Independent candidates. They were instructed to ensure that the party secured at least 20 ULBs where the verdict was hung. It is learnt that a meeting held here on Saturday also discussed the conduct of ZPTC and MPTC elections. Considering the outcome of the recent Panchayat and Municipal polls, several leaders felt that holding the elections at the earliest would favour the ruling party.

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According to sources, the leaders also opined that disbursing the long pending Rythu Bharosa assistance ahead of the elections would be a prudent move.

TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud, Cabinet Ministers including D Sridhar Babu and Vakiti Srihari, along with other senior leaders, participated in the meeting.

Earlier, eight councillors of the All India Forward Bloc from Vadepalli municipality in Jogulamba Gadwal met the Chief Minister. As the meeting triggered speculation in political circles, the councillors maintained that it was a courtesy call and that they were not defecting to the Congress.

Similarly, senior leaders of the Communist Party of India, Palla Venkat Reddy and ET Narasimha, also met the Chief Minister and discussed the results of the Kothagudem Municipal Corporation. The corporation has returned a hung verdict, with both the Congress and the CPI winning 22 divisions each.