The ruling TRS in Telangana is heading for a clean sweep in municipal elections, the counting of votes for which started at 8 am on Monday (today).

The elections were held for Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations besides municipalities in Siddipet, Jadcherla, Atchampet, Nakrekal and Kothur on April 30.

The TRS had already bagged Jadcherla, Atchampet, Nakrekal and Kothur municipalities by winning majority wards.

The TRS is far ahead in Siddipet where its victory looks imminent.

The TRS is also leading in Warangal and Khammam corporations by a huge margin.

Though the final results are expected by Sunday night, the TRS leaders and cadre already burst into celebrations by bursting crackers and distributing sweets at party’s head quarters Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) took early leads in municipal elections as counting of votes was underway across the state on Saturday.

The State Election Commission (SEC) took up counting of votes polled in nine municipal corporations and 120 municipalities. TRS candidates were leading in many municipal wards.

According to SEC officials, counting was taken up at 134 centres. As many as 10,000 officials are engaged in the process. All results are expected to be announced by evening.

Over 70 per cent of 53.37 lakh voters had cast their votes on Wednesday to elect 325 corporators for municipal corporations and 2,727 councillors for municipalities.

A total of 1,746 candidates are in fray in municipal corporations while 11,099 candidates tested their political fortunes in municipalities.

TRS candidates were elected unanimously in 77 wards in municipalities and one ward in corporation while three candidates of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) were elected unopposed in three municipal wards.

Most of the municipalities and corporations went to the polls for the first time after they were carved out last year.

Elections were not held for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and 10 other urban local bodies as their tenure is not yet over.

TRS, which had retained power in the state in December 2018, is confident of winning 90 per cent of the urban local bodies.

While TRS has fielded candidates for all 3,052 municipal wards, opposition Congress and BJP have fielded 2,616 and 2,313 candidates respectively.

The counting of votes for the municipal elections in Telangana will be done from 8 AM tomorrow (Saturday) but according to the Telangana Intelligence Department report, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is set to register yet another landslide victory by making a clean sweep of municipalities and municipal corporations.

According to intelligence report, the TRS would make a clean sweep by bagging all the nine municipal corporations as well as 100-plus municipalities out of the 120 that went to polls. In contrast, the opposition parties, all put together, would be confined to a single-digit tally of victories.

The Congress is expected to win just two municipalities (Vaddepally, Nandikonda), AIMIM is expected to win two municipalities (Jalpally, Bhainsa) and BJP is expected to win just a single municipality (Tukkuguda). Field reports suggest that no opposition party in Telangana can come anywhere near TRS.

Out of 129 urban local bodies (ULBs), comprising 120 municipalities and 9 municipal corporations, TRS is expected to win 121 comfortably. The pink party is expected to win another five municipalities with the support of its MPs, MLAs and MLCs, who are ex-officio members and have voting rights in the election of mayors and chairpersons. With this, TRS is bound to win 125 out of total 129 ULBs.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is looking to score another electoral victory as it appears ahead of the opposition in the elections to urban local bodies scheduled on Wednesday.

The TRS is confident of scoring yet another electoral victory as the main opposition Congress seems to be in disarray, still reeling under the defections of a dozen MLAs to the ruling party and the defeat in the by-elections to Huzurnagar Assembly seat last year.

A year after retaining power in the state with a landslide victory, winning majority of Lok Sabha seats and sweeping the village, ‘mandal’ (block) and district level polls and also wresting a Assembly seat from the Congress in the by-election, the TRS aims to tighten its grip further by winning majority of seats in 129 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

A total of 12,898 candidates are in fray for 2,727 wards in 120 municipalities and 325 wards in nine municipal corporations. Polling will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in over 7,700 polling stations on Wednesday. Nearly 80 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes.

As many as 59 new municipalities were created last year by upgrading gram panchayats following creation of 23 new districts.

While all 120 municipalities and eight corporations are going to polls on Wednesday, elections for 60-member Karimnagar corporation will be held on January 24.

The corporations going to polls exclude the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) as its tenure is not yet over. Ten other ULBs, including Khammam and Warangal corporations, are also not going to polls.

In an indication that the TRS has an edge, its candidates were elected unopposed in 77 wards. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a friendly party of the TRS, also won three wards without contest.

While the TRS is contesting all the wards on its own, AIMIM has fielded candidates in 276 wards.

A confident TRS is seeking the votes on the basis of its performance during last six years. Such is the TRS confidence that its President and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao did not campaign for the party. His son and TRS working President K. T. Rama Rao addressed a few election meetings in his Sircilla Assembly constituency.

Ministers and MLAs led the campaign in their respective districts. However, the TRS is facing the rebel problems in some ULBs. Rama Rao, however, said such problems were common in a party with large number of aspirants.

Rama Rao, who holds the portfolios of municipal administration, industry and information technology, pointed out that in many wards there were no takers for the Congress and BJP tickets.

Congress state President Uttam Kumar Reddy and other party leaders participated in the campaign. They alleged that TRS has an “undue” advantage as the election schedule and reservation quota was designed in a way to benefit the ruling party.

The Congress leaders, in their campaign, highlighted the failures of the TRS government. They targeted the Chief Minister for various alleged acts of omissions and commissions of the government.

The BJP, which suffered humiliating defeat in Huzurnagar by-election, will be fighting to salvage its pride. After making huge inroads to win four Lok Sabha seats, the party faced a drubbing in Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC polls) and even forfeited its deposit in Huzurnagar.

The party faces a tough task of winning the ULBs falling under four Lok Sabha constituencies represented by it. State BJP President K. Laxman and its MPs campaigned aggressively for the party candidates. They even whipped up the sentiments over Citizenship Amendment Act targeting those opposing it.

Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy also campaigned for the BJP, addressing few election meetings.

AIMIM’s campaign also revolved around the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). Its President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi led the campaign.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which had stayed away from Lok Sabha polls, fielded candidates in 401 wards. Its state President L. Ramna exuded confidence of the party doing well.

The Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and other smaller parties are also in the fray.

The ruling Telangana Rastra Samithi seems to be banking heavily on “New Year sentiment” to win the upcoming municipal polls in Telangana.

The municipal polls are scheduled on January 22 and the results will be announced on January 25.

Whenever elections were held in the very beginning of the New Year, the TRS won them with good majority.

The New Year sentiment for TRS has started with GHMC elections in 2016.

The GHMC elections were held in January 2016. Despite TRS was never a major political force in GHMC limits, it won the GHMC elections with a landslide majority by bagging 99 seats out of 150 seats surprising every one.

The New Year sentiment again worked for TRS in 2019 when gram panchayat polls were held in January 2019. TRS again made a clean sweep of gram panchayat polls.

Now municipal polls are scheduled in New Year 2020 in January.

TRS working president and IT minister KT Rama Rao, who had a chit chat with media today on the occasion of New Year said that “New Year sentiment” had always favoured TRS earlier and he expects the same sentiment to work in favour of TRS again in municipal polls this month.