GHMC election results 2020: During the first round of counting, TRS takes lead in 31 wards

GHMC election result 2020: Majid Hussain of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM has registered first win in the elections, from the Mehdipatnam division. The BJP and Congress were leading in 12 and one wards respectively.

As the first round of counting of votes got underway on Friday for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was leading in 31 wards, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 12 and Congress in one. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)’s Majid Hussain, meanwhile, registered first win in the elctions, from Mehdipatnam division.

Indians wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk out after casting their votes, at a polling booth during the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections in Hyderabad, India, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

The counting of votes began at 8am at various counting centres across Hyderabad amid tight security. There are a total of 1,965 postal ballots in 150 divisions of the 150 ward Hyderabad civic body. While the BJP led during postal ballot counting, TRS took the lead when the actual counting of votes begun.

Earlier, TRS leader K Kavitha expressed confidence her party would win more than 100 seats, as against 99 it currently has in the GHMC, having been victorious in 2016. “We are expecting to win over 100 seats. Although many big leaders from the BJP came to campaign and made many false claims, I’m happy that people of Hyderabad did not believe in them and reposed their faith in KCR’s leadership,” Kavitha said while speaking to news agency ANI.

During the high-pitched campaigning, the BJP fielded several heavyweights, with Union home minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, party president JP Nadda and youth wing chief Tejasvi Surya canvassing in the IT hub. The BJP also raised its pitch to rename Hyderabad as ‘Bhagyanagar’ as well as over the alleged presence of Rohingyas and illegal immigrants in the city, promising a “surgical strike” if it wins the mayoral polls.

The planks raised by the BJP during campaigning triggered a war of words with the Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

Voting for the GHMC elections took place on December 1; the turnout, however, was dismal. In the 2016 elections, the AIMIM was second with 44 seats, followed by the BJP with four seats, the Congress with two and the Telugu Desam Party last with a single seat.