Congress-MIM retain 15 GHMC standing panel seats

HYDERABAD: Large scale cross-voting reportedly took place by Congress corporators during elections to the Standing Committee of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Thursday.Two candidates Diddi Rambabu (Congress) and Singireddy Dhanpal Reddy (independent) got equal number of votes of 76. This forced the GHMC authorities to resort to a draw of lots, in which Rambabu emerged victorious.Sources said that nearly two dozen Congress corporators, said to be alleged loyalists of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, resorted to cross-voting. The Congress-Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) alliance once again sweeped all 15 seats of the Standing Committee, with the Congress bagging eight seats while MIM won seven.The candidates declared as winners are: G Vengal Rao (104), B Chandramma (97), Ravula Sheshagiri (97), Raj Kumar 96), Md Zakir Baqueri (95), Mirza Riyaz Ul-Hassan Effendi (95), Khaja Bilal Ahmed (94),  Kalpana Yadav (93), Gaffar MA (93), B Ravi Yadav (93), Mansoor Bin Mohd Awalgi (91), AR Prasanna Kumari (90), Syed Abdul Haq Nazeer (90), Ranjana Devi Goel (88) and Diddi Rambabu (76).GHMC additional commissioner (Administration), P Sai Kumar said of the 150 corporators, two corporators did not turn up for voting as they were out of station, while three corporators votes were found invalid.Of these three corporators, two voted for six candidates as against the normal 15, while one corporator instead of stamping on the ballot paper, signed on it and thus was rejected by polling authorities.Speaking to reporters, mayor Banda Karthika Reddy said she would complain to the PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana against those Congress corporators who voted against party candidates. “This type of anti-party activity should not be allowed,” she said.MIM floor leader Md Nazeeruddin said all seven candidates fielded by them, had won with the support of Congress.