HYDERABAD: Comprehensive wins in the 1992 and 1997 elections and holding the only nominated civilian post in the Board for the last two years, apart from its victories since the Secunderabad Cantonment Board's inception, speak volumes of the Congress party's dominance over political affairs in the region.

The question this time is whether the Congress can retain its hold in the elections being held after nine years.

In 1992, the party won six out of seven seats with one seat going the BJP way. In 1997, it continued its stronghold over the Board by bagging five seats while the other two were shared by the TDP and the BJP. The polls scheduled for 2002 were postponed due to different reasons, including the delay in amending the Cantonment Act, 1924. This led to the Congress leader J. Pratap getting nominated in 2004 and again in 2005 as the lone civilian member of the `Varied Board' that oversaw the Board's affairs.

Complaints

Despite complaints galore on the inept administration, Pratap claims people looked up to him, and that will be one advantage for him while campaigning in Ward One (Bowenpally). "There were a lot of complaints about faulty water supply and distribution in Cantonment. We managed to get SCB to sort out matters with the Metro Water Board, who will take over the supply shortly," says Pratap.

Another achievement Congress claims is the proposed classification of SCB as a deemed municipality, which means funds in abundance from the National Urban Renewal Mission. Pratap also is trying to get the Board replicate the State Government's gesture of Rs.100 per month for water connection in slums. "That could be approved when the Board meets after the elections," he says.

Area-level meetings

On the campaign side, area-level meetings are already on. The only ward where the number of aspiring candidates has not been whittled down to one or two is in Ward Two (Rasoolpura, Tarbund etc.), where there are 10 aspirants!

Preparations are on for a massive rally too, to be led by PCC president K. Keshava Rao, Ministers Mohd. Shabbir Ali, J. Geeta Reddy and others while Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy might not campaign since the cadre is "sure of victory even without him campaigning".

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