Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA from Malakpet, Ahmed Balala, on Tuesday, December 16, alleged that the delimitation of new GHMC wards was aimed towards damaging his party.
On December 9, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation issued a preliminary delimitation notification after the state government announced the decision to merge of 27 urban local bodies into the corporation. The notification doubled the number of wards from the current 150 to 300.
Citizens were asked to submit their suggestions or objections at the circle/ zonal offices within a week. However, the notification has ben met with severe criticism from opposition parties as no GHMC general body meeting was held before its publication.
Addressing Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi during a GHMC council meeting, the Malakpet AIMIM MLA said that while delimitation is nothing new, this particular instance has set a precedent with how suddenly the decision was made.
Demanding an explanation on how the boundaries of these wards were decided, the MLA stated, “The (GHMC) commissioner had previously said that we will not cross the boundaries of other assembly constituencies. On what basis have these wards been divided? The last population census was held in 2011, and there is no data after that. if you have divided it based on voters, then how many voters have been designated to each ward?”
“I understand that this is an administrative decision, but it’s clear that this decision has been taken to damage the AIMIM.” the MLA alleged.
Congress, BJP, BRS object to delimitation
BRS, on December 15, had approached the GHMC commissioner, saying that the delimitation process was carried out without following due process and asked for the circulation of complete delimitation material including maps, population figures, boundary descriptions and annexures to the General Body and to all of the ex-officio members.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the GHMC expansion would favour the AIMIM by redrawing boundaries based on the concentration or dispersion of certain voters. Congress leaders Danam Nagender, Arekapudi Gandhi, Prakash Goud, and Balmoori Venkat had also raised concerns related to the delimitation of their respective divisions.
Overall, parties have questioned the lack of transparency in the delimitation process, flagged the urgency with which the decision was made, and expressed concern over the lack of consultation from parties and the public.
After hearing concerns from each side, the commissioner assured that a special general body meeting would be held on Tuesday to address all issues.
Out of the 119 Assembly constituencies in the state, 24 fall under the GHMC limits.
In the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections, the BRS won 15 seats out of the 24 in the GHMC area. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) retained its seven seats (in the Old City areas mostly), and ex-BJP leader Raja SIngh retained the Goshamahal seat.
