BRS losing grip on local bodies, to face no-confidence in the Mancherial municipality

ADILABAD: After a defeat in the recently-held assembly elections in Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party is facing hardship in municipalities with the leaders looking to switch the party to gain power. One municipality where leaders are trying to shift to the Congress is Mancherial municipality.

If reports are to be believed, as many as 24 councilors are reportedly preparing to present a no-confidence motion notice to the Collector. The municipal chairman and vice-chairman are both from the BRS party, but with the recent change in political dynamics following the Congress party's victory, many people's representatives and leaders are joining the Congress party.

In the municipal elections held in January 2020, the BRS party won 21 seats, while the Congress party won 14 seats and one seat was won by an independent candidate. However, five candidates from the Congress party and independent candidates later joined the BRS party, increasing their strength to 27. With recent changes, one councilor joined the BJP from the BRS party, while 14 councilors joined the Congress party. This has decreased the BRS party's strength to 12 in the municipality, while the Congress party now has 23 councilors.

Arrangements are reportedly being made to issue a notice for a no-confidence motion against the Chairman and Vice-chairman. There is a possibility that more councilors from the BRS party may join the Congress party.

Congress MLA Prema Sagar Rao, who will be visiting Mancherial after the Assembly session, is expected to decide on the selection of the new chairman and vice-chairman. In other towns like Bellampally and Naspur also, the BRS party is losing its grip due to party changes. In the recent elections, the Congress party won all four seats in Mancherial, Bellampally, Chennur, and Khanapur (Jannaram) within the district.

This has weakened the BRS party further, as it is facing a lack of local leadership. Former MLAs tried to pacify the counselors, however, they did not heed and changed parties. On the other hand, the BRS party is expected to face challenges in the upcoming Panchayat, Lok Sabha, and municipal elections.