DNA Special: Hyderabad civic body election results major boost for BJP

The Hyderabad civic body polls were widely discussed across the country. Generally, municipal elections are limited to issues like road, sewer, drain and water but this election is going to have a far-reaching effect on Indian politics. 

Thought the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has emerged as the single-largest party winning 55 seats its performance is considered to be poor given the fact it had won 99 seats in the last election. While the Bharatiya Janata Party has made major inroads by winning 48 seats from the previous 4. There has not been much change in the performance of Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM that has won 44 seats.

The BJP may not be able to choose its mayor in Hyderabad this election, but this performance is certainly going to give BJP new energy for the 2023 Telangana assembly elections.

The election campaign was mired in controversies. When Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in the city to campaign, he first went to Bhagya Lakshmi Temple, near the popular Char Minar. It is believed that the name of Hyderabad was earlier Bhagyanagar after the name of this temple.

During the election campaign, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke of changing the name of Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar. Responding to Yogi's statement, Asaduddin Owaisi threatened to eradicate the entire generation of people who even try to do so. 

In the year 2013, Asaduddin Owaisi's brother Akbaruddin Owaisi also threatened people of dire consequences if the police gave his people a free hand for 15 minutes.

During the campaign, BJP talked about ending Nizam culture and making Hyderabad a Mini India. Which means turning Hyderabad into a city that belongs to all. People of any one culture or religion should not consider the city as their private property. The way cities like Delhi and Bengaluru have developed Hyderabad should also harbour a similar dream.

The BJP has made Similar charges against Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. According to the saffron party, Rao runs the government from his farmhouse like a king and plays politics of appeasement with the Muslims.

These results of the civic body polls is certainly a cause of worry for Chandrashekhar Rao but for the BJP this success is akin to the 1948 operation Polo victory of the Indian Army when it liberated Hyderabad from the clutches of the Nizam.

At that time Hyderabad was the largest princely state of India in terms of population and GDP. Eighty percent of Hyderabad's population was Hindu, but minority Muslims held important positions in administration and the military.

The Razakar army was formed under the patronage of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqui of Hyderabad and was the private army of the Nizam which always targetted non-Muslims.

The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to resolve this issue peacefully but Home Minister Sardar Patel believed it could only be possible through a military operation.

In order to merge Hyderabad into the Indian territory, Sardar Patel launched Operation Polo On 13 September 1948. In a matter of just 100 hours, the Nizam surrendered.

When the British left India, there were 565 independent princely states and adding them all to the Indian territory was a herculean task which only Sardar Patel could achieve. The merger of Kashmir and Hyderabad was the biggest challenge before him but Patel's diplomacy forced the Nawab of Hyderabad to surrendered to India. 

Though the nizam surrendered, it's culture still prevails in a  big way in the city of Hyderabad. It is very important that this culture ends as it will prove fatal for the people and the development of the city.

Hyderabad is a city where the world's largest tech companies like Microsoft, IBM, Amazon and Google have offices and is hence referred to as Cyber ​​City. It is also known as the Pharmaceutical Capital of India. In terms of production, one-third of the country's medicines are manufactured in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is also the fifth-largest city in terms of economy as it has a total GDP of around Rs 5.5 lakh crore.