Parties launch campaign for polls

HYDERABAD: Poll fever is yet to hit Hyderabad, but the main political parties have launched their campaign much ahead of the announcement of elections for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) expected to be held next month.
While the ruling Telangana Rasthra Samithi (TRS) is rushing to launch populist schemes and make announcements before model code of conduct comes into force, opposition parties, including the Congress and the BJPTDP combine are into aggressive canvassing.
“Now the elections are imminent and all political parties have been turned into campaign mode. Announcement of the poll schedule is just a formality to happen,“ said BJP spokesperson M Raghunandan Rao.
In a hope to repeat Wa rangal bypoll victory , the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has given the lead role to chief minister K Chandraesekhar Rao`s son and IT minister K Taraka Rama Rao. After steering the party to victory in Warangal and pulling off the coup to ensure six TRS candi dates elected unopposed in the MLC polls, KTR is looking to hit a hat-trick by winning the GHMC polls for his party .This would also help him claim the number two place in the TRS.
In fact, KTR was the first to talk about the GHMC polls schedule when he told reporters last week that the elections were expected in the last week of January 2016. Following which he was at the centre of hectic political activities. While he went on to give special interviews to TV channels, KTR announced that his party would come up with an election manifesto exclusively for Hyderabad. “It is the collective leadership under which the TRS is preparing to go for the polls. Being a dynamic leader, KTR will assume a significant role as other leaders will also do,“ said Palla Rajeswar Reddy , senior TRS leader and MLC.

He said the party was focusing to win 100 wards out 150 wards going for polls. The TRS has already painted the city in pink with the party hoardings dotting Hyderabad. As there is an exodus of leaders from other parties to the TRS, Rajeswar Reddy said over 60 excouncillors who were members in the previous GHMC had joined the ruling party .
In a bid capitalize of the flagship on the popular free two-bed room houses for poor, KTR laid foundation stones for the scheme in Rasulpura and Sanathnagar last week.And he announced that the government would build one lakh houses in the city under the scheme.
On Tuesday , he attended a meeting in the Old City where he promised two drinking water reservoirs for this part of Hyderabad.
On its part, the BJP-TDP combine, which claims to have strong support base in the city, is heavily banking of popularity of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandraba bu Naidu among the Andhra voters, who account for a significant number in the city .Naidu, who is visiting Hyderabad in weekends, is expec ed to convene a massive BJPTDP party workers' meet in Hyderabad next week. "The BJP-TDP combine has comp eted coordination committee meeting in almost all assembly segments in the GMC limits. Chandrababu Naidu will campaign for the alliance," said N Ramachandra Rao, senior BJP MLC.
He said the Telangana BJP eaders would leave for New Delhi on Wednesday to invite national leaders including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Prakash Jawadekar to campaign for the BJP-TDP al iance.
Not to be left behind, the Congress launched the poll campaign on Sunday by taking out a huge rally of the party leaders in Chadrayanagutta in the Old City on Sunday .