This Article is From Nov 28, 2020

For High-Stakes Hyderabad Polls, Amit Shah's Tour To Start From A Temple

Amit Shah's visit to the temple will be followed by a roadshow in Sanath Nagar, Khairatabad and Jubilee Hills constituency.

For High-Stakes Hyderabad Polls, Amit Shah's Tour To Start From A Temple

Amit Shah will arrive in Hyderabad on Sunday. (File)

Hyderabad:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah who will arrive in Hyderabad on Sunday will start his day with a visit to the Bhagyalakshmi temple that stands abutting the 429-year-old Charminar.

The choice of the Hindu temple amid a campaign that has touched highly polarised notes already reinforces the dominant narrative of the BJP's election campaign for the municipal polls in Hyderabad.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Hyderabad today and lead a roadshow in the Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency. Later, in Hyderabad's old city, Yogi Adityanath will address a public meeting.

Mr Shah's visit to the temple tomorrow will be followed by a roadshow in Sanath Nagar, Khairatabad and Jubilee Hills constituency.

On Friday, a light shower and cool breeze brought in by Cyclone Nivar, now a deep depression set the mood for a colourful roadshow addressed by BJP national president JP Nadda in Hyderabad.

This came just a day after the BJP promised in its manifesto that it would give Rs. 25,000 to every family hit by floods in October that ravaged many parts of the city.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had announced Rs. 10,000 as relief to every family hit by the flood. The Congress promised up to Rs. 50,000.

Mr Nadda's roadshow was followed by a meeting with intellectuals.

The local election in Hyderabad has the BJP's A-listers flying down to the city for a campaign that has become less and less about roads and sanitation.

Both Mr Nadda and Mr Shah's visit to the city this weekend, and campaigners like Yogi Adityanath and Smriti Irani, signify that the ruling party's formidable election machinery is entirely focused the set of municipal wards in India's top IT hub.

Voting will be held in 150 municipal constituencies, or wards, in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls on December 1 and a mayor will be elected for the corporation that has a budget of Rs 5,380 crore this year.

The ruling TRS dominated the last civic polls. This year, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao or "KCR" is up against a BJP determined to prove that its recent, unexpected victory in an assembly byelection was no fluke.

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