The first phase of the distribution of 11,700 houses to beneficiaries in Hyderabad will begin on 2 September.
Published Sep 01, 2023 | 1:58 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2023 | 1:59 PM
An apartment complex in GHMC which is to be distributed. (Official website)
The BRS which has stolen a march over its rivals in implementing its electoral strategies, is now hastening to use its ultimate weapon.
The state government, headed by BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao, announced the distribution of double-bedroom houses in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, which comprises 24 Assembly segments.
The state government announced that the first phase of the distribution of 11,700 houses to beneficiaries in Hyderabad would begin on 2 September.
Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao will distribute 1,700 2BHK ‘Dignity’ houses at Bahadurpally in the Quthbullapur constituency. Ministers, the mayor, and the deputy mayor will distribute the houses in other constituencies.
Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav, who is from Hyderabad, after reviewing the progress in the finalisation of the double-bedroom houses, recently said that the selection of beneficiaries was done in the most impartial and transparent way.
The names of the beneficiaries for the first phase were selected by drawing lots, he said.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, in his Independence Day address, had said that about one lakh houses would be distributed in phases to beneficiaries in Hyderabad and its surroundings from the same day but it took time for the officials to get around to the intimidating task of finalising the beneficiaries for the allotment of the houses.
As the double-bedroom scheme is the most potent political weapon, the BRS wants to use it to consolidate its presence in Hyderabad where the BJP is perceived to have made inroads in several municipal divisions.
In the elections to the GHMC in December 2020, the BJP, under the leadership of its former president Bandi Sanjay Kumar powered its way into the BRS strongholds. It ended with a tally of 48 of the 150 seats in the GHMC. The BJP had won only four seats in the 2016 GHMC elections.
The BRS’ tally of 99 seats in 2016 crashed to 55 in 2020 in the GHMC. The realisation that it was losing ground in Hyderabad came as a rude wake-up call for the BRS, forcing all leaders — from the chief minister to the division level — to act and prevent further erosion of its ranks..
The BJP, using the Hindutva slogan, sowed the wind and reaped a whirlwind. Bandi Sanjay Kumar, leading the BJP charge, tried to expose the covert understanding between the AIMIM and the BRS, which led to a deluge of votes flowing the BJP way.
Hyderabad electoral mosaic is unlike in the hinterland of Telangana since it has chunks of the population with differing political predilections.
As there is a significant Andhra population in Hyderabad, all the parties want to appropriate a sizeable share.
After the exit of the Telugu Desam Party from Telangana in 2014, the electoral chunk was up for grabs and the BRS has managed to appropriate to itself a significant portion in the 2016 municipal elections.
In the Assembly elections that followed two years later in 2018, its winning streak continued winning 14 of the 24 seats, which was an increase from three in the 2014 Assembly elections — Malkajgiri, Patancheru, and Secunderabd.
In 2018, it wrested all the seats held previously by the TDP. But the BJP came rushing in by the time the municipal elections arrived in 2020, halting the dream run of the BRS in Hyderabad.
The BRS appears to be trying to read the minds of the Andhra voters in the wake of the campaign by the BJP moderating after its debacle in the Karnataka Assembly election and the removal of Bandi Sanjay Kumar as president of the party who could rally the youth behind him with his highly inflammatory speeches.
As the Congress’ fortunes too are perceived to be on the ascendency, a sense of unease is palpable in the BJP and the BRS as to where the loyalties of Andhras would lie.
Against the backdrop, BRS working president KT Rama Rao is focusing on the 25 Assembly segments in GHMC and four more in the Rangareddy district which are also close to Hyderabad to prevent erosion in the vote banks.
The priority that KCR is according to launch the distribution of double-bedroom houses in the GHMC area and parts of Ranga Reddy is an indication that he wants to prevent erosion in the vote bank.
It remains to be seen if the double-bedroom scheme would help the party net more seats in 29 seats (25 of GHMC and four in RR district).
