TRS Wins Neredmet Ward after Nod from HC, Tally Goes Up to 56

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Wednesday won a ward whose result was withheld in the recent Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections due to a legal issue, taking the total number of wards won by the ruling party to 56 out of the total 150. TRS nominee Kothapally Meena Reddy defeated her nearest BJP rival V Prasanna Naidu in the Neredmet ward, official sources said.

With the fresh win, the TRS tally rose to 56. The BJP made major gains in the recent GHMC polls bagging 48 wards on the back of a high-profile campaign by the party in which top leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, participated.

The AIMIM secured 44 wards, retaining its hold in the old city of Hyderabad. The Congress could win only two seats.

The TRS is the single largest party with 56 wards. Though the counting of votes was taken up in Neredmet on December 4 along with other wards, it had to be stopped owing to the legal issue over some votes being cast with a ‘distinguishing mark’.

The process of counting of votes was resumed on Wednesday. The declaration of the ward’s result had been kept in abeyance (following orders of high court) over votes cast with distinguishing mark on ballot papers, in place of arrow cross mark, provided by mistake by the polling personnel, as the distinguishing mark votes had a bearing on the majority or declaration of the result.

The court later directed that such votes be treated as valid and the result declared, according to a State Election Commission press release issued earlier.