GHMC polls: UP CM Adityanath says not averse to renaming Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar

The campaign for the GHMC elections, which will be held on December 1, has already witnessed several heated verbal exchanges among the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), AIMIM and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday held a roadshow at Hyderabad to boost the BJP’s chances of winning the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Council elections due to be held next month. Adityanath addressed a public gathering at Shah Ali Banda, which is situated in Hyderabad’s Old City, considered a strong base of the ll India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM).

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with BJP State president Bandi Sanjay waves at supporters during a roadshow, ahead of GHMC elections in Hyderabad.(PTI)

During his address, he proposed that Hyderabad can be renamed as Bhagyanagar if the BJP wins the civic body polls. According to ANI, UP CM said, “Some people were asking me if Hyderabad can be renamed as Bhagyanagar. I said, why not? I told them that we renamed Faizabad and Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj after BJP came into power in UP. Then why Hyderabad can’t be renamed as Bhagyanagar?”

The campaign for the GHMC elections, which will be held on December 1, has already witnessed several heated verbal exchanges among the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), AIMIM and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Adityanath’s roadshow at Hyderabad is being seen as the BJP’s attempt to gain some ground in Telangana and southern Indian states where the party has not been successful in getting a hold with only Karnataka being the exception. Regional parties still continue to have a firm grip on states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh along with Telangana and the BJP plans to use the GHMC elections to make some inroads into Telangana.

The BJP’s keen interest in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Council elections can be seen from the large election rallies it has held in the state so far. The BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, party lawmaker Tejasvi Surya and Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Smriti Irani have all held rallies or major roadshows in the state before Adityanath’s visit.

Telangana currently has two MLAs from the BJP in the legislative assembly and has four MPs in the Lok Sabha from the state. BJP is keen to use the civic polls as a means to increase its footprint in the state.

The results of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Elections will be declared on December 4.