Hyderabad, February 15 – In a dramatic turn of events ahead of the election for the Mayor of the Karimnagar Municipal Corporation, five corporators joined the ruling Congress party on Sunday.
The five independent corporators, including two from the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), formally joined the Congress party in the presence of state ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and D. Sridhar Babu.
Sai Jyothi, one of the AIFB corporators who had joined the BJP on Friday, switched her allegiance to the Congress on Sunday.
This development dealt a setback to the BJP's efforts to gain control of the Karimnagar Corporation.
The election for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Corporation is scheduled for Monday.
In the 66-member Karimnagar Corporation, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 30 seats.
The Congress party secured 14 seats, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) secured 9 seats. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured three seats. Ten independent corporators were also elected.
A party needs 34 votes, including those of ex-officio members, to win the post of Mayor.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is the MP from Karimnagar, had brought four independents into the BJP fold.
This increased the BJP's strength to 34. Bandi Sanjay is also eligible to vote as an ex-officio member.
The Congress intensified its efforts to win the Mayor's seat on Sunday by persuading one of the independents who had joined the BJP to join its ranks.
The Congress has the support of AIMIM, and it has also sought support from the main opposition party, the BRS. The combined strength of these three parties stands at 26.
With the addition of five independents, the strength increases to 31, and further rises to 33 with the ex-officio votes of the MLAs from Karimnagar and Manakondur.
The Congress needs one more corporator to reach the majority mark, and it is making all efforts to secure support from the independents.
The ruling party moved its corporators and independents to a hotel in Hyderabad.
Although the BJP has also emerged as the single largest party in the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, winning 28 out of the total 60 divisions, the party is struggling to reach the magic figure of 31.
The Congress party, which won 17 divisions, has the support of AIMIM, which secured 14 divisions. The lone corporator of the BRS has also decided to join the Congress.
Meanwhile, both the Congress and the BRS are actively pursuing efforts to gain control of the 34 hung municipalities.
The election of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons in these municipalities is scheduled for Monday.
Both major parties are trying to garner support from the independents to control the urban bodies.
Elections to 116 municipalities and seven corporations were held on February 11, and the results were announced on February 13.
The Congress party secured a majority in 66 municipalities and four corporations. In the Kothagudem corporation, the Congress and CPI are likely to share power.
The ruling party also emerged as the single largest party in 18 other municipalities.
The BRS won 13 municipalities and emerged as the single largest party in 19 municipalities.
