The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is now shifting its focus to the upcoming civic polls in the State capital. The party, which dominated city politics during its tenure in government, is once again aiming to maintain its winning streak across the three corporations.
The party has appointed in-charges for the three corporations to ensure coordination and follow-up in the run-up to the elections, whenever they are held. According to sources, party MLC D. Sravan Kumar and former MLC Karne Prabhakar have been appointed as in-charges for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Similarly, MLC Shambhipur Raju has been appointed as in-charge for the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC), while Pochampally Srinivas Reddy will oversee the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC).
The BRS has been a force to reckon with within the city limits, having won a majority of divisions in the erstwhile GHMC and nearby urban local bodies. The party also had a significant number of MLAs from the city. However, following its defeat in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the party has weakened due to the exit of several leaders, including MLAs.
Those who left the party include Danam Nagender, Arikepudi Gandhi, T Prakash Goud and others. Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and her deputy Mothe Srilatha also quit the party and joined the ruling Congress.
The party has already convened a meeting of MLAs, MLCs and constituency in-charges. Party Working President KT Rama Rao said that no matter how many corporations are formed, it is the "pink flag" that will ultimately fly. He added that the party would be further strengthened by holding division-wise meetings ahead of the corporation elections.
Senior party leader D Sudheer Reddy said that the BRS government had earned a good reputation for the city by undertaking several development works such as roads and skyways, attracting significant investment and transforming Hyderabad into a world-class city. He alleged that the present government divided the corporation into three without providing adequate infrastructure and claimed that people were opposed to the trifurcation. Another party leader remarked that there is effectively no dedicated city minister in the Congress government. "There is Mohammad Azharuddin, but he lacks experience in city politics. They are weakening Hyderabad, the economic engine. Creating three corporations is not an achievement; providing infrastructure is the real challenge," the leader said.