Hyderabad: The Indian National Congress secured the Nizamabad Mayor seat with support from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen after falling short of a majority on its own.
Umarani was appointed Mayor, while Salma Tahseen assumed charge as Deputy Mayor. The election took place after corporators were sworn in at the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation.
In the recent municipal polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 28 seats in the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation. Congress secured 17 seats, AIMIM obtained 14, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi won one seat. A total of 31 votes was required to secure the Nizamabad Mayor seat. The BJP remained three seats short of the majority mark.
Faced with this arithmetic, senior Congress leaders intervened. They forged an alliance with AIMIM. In addition, the lone BRS corporator joined Congress. Consequently, the combined strength enabled Congress to clinch the Nizamabad Mayor seat.
Numbers behind Nizamabad Mayor seat victory
The electoral outcome reflected a fragmented mandate. Although the BJP emerged as the single largest party, it lacked the numbers to secure the Nizamabad Mayor seat independently. Therefore, the contest shifted to post-poll alignments.
Congress leaders coordinated with AIMIM corporators to consolidate support. The defection of the BRS member further strengthened their position. As a result, the ruling party crossed the required 31-vote threshold.
The margin of victory stood at three votes. This narrow gap proved decisive in determining control of the civic body. Consequently, Umarani assumed office as Mayor under the new alignment.
The developments underscored the significance of coalition-building in municipal politics. While the BJP led in seat count, the combined opposition outnumbered it in the final tally for the Nizamabad Mayor seat.
Political reactions over Nizamabad Mayor seat outcome
Following the result, Dharmapuri Arvind, Member of Parliament from Nizamabad and senior BJP leader, criticised the formation of the alliance. He stated that Congress secured the mayoral and deputy mayoral posts by a slender margin of three votes.
Arvind expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as a coalition of BRS, Congress, and AIMIM aimed at defeating the BJP. He alleged that the alliance was formed solely to prevent the BJP from gaining control of the corporation.
“Today, I understood why the BRS President K. Chandrashekhar Rao and working president K. T. Rama Rao are being protected by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the Kaleshwaram, Formula-E car race and other corruption cases,” Arvind said.
He further alleged that the opposition parties collaborated unethically within the corporation. Moreover, he claimed that police, whom he described as aligned with Congress, contributed to the BJP’s defeat.
Despite the setback, Arvind asserted that the BJP achieved a moral victory in the municipal election. He stated that the party would work to regain control of the corporation before the end of the current five-year term.
He affirmed that the BJP remained committed to reversing the outcome of the Nizamabad Mayor seat within the term’s duration. According to him, the party would intensify efforts at the grassroots level.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders maintained that the result reflected legitimate political strategy. They argued that alliances within elected bodies were part of democratic functioning.
The outcome has shifted control of the civic administration in Nizamabad to Congress with AIMIM backing. The new Mayor and Deputy Mayor are expected to assume full responsibilities in the coming days.