Deccan Chronicle 02.12.2009

Hyderabad likely to get woman Mayor

Dec. 1: The Greater Hyderabad is likely to be headed by a woman as its Mayor. Congress has short-listed the names of two women corporators, one belonging to the ST and the other to the BC communities, for the coveted post.

Though talks between the Congress and the MIM over sharing the Mayor’s seat are still on, senior Congress leaders said their party would prefer to have their candidate as Mayor for the first three years. There is no question of compromise on the issue, they said.

Congress has emerged a clear leader in the GHMC after the High Court on Tuesday refused to restrain the ex-officio members from voting in election to the seat of Mayor, pending a final decision.

The Congress has 52 corporators and 42 ex-officio members, including a rebel MLA, compared to 43 corporators and 9 ex-officios of MIM. The Congress has also informed the MIM about its proposal to give the Mayor’s seat to a woman.

When contacted, the health minister and Greater Hyderabad Congress president, Mr Danam Nagender, confirmed to this newspaper that party corporator B. Bharathi from the Banjara Hills municipal ward and Adam Uma Devi from Boudhanagar ward were the two names short-listed. While the first candidate hails from the ST community, the second belongs to a BC community.