Karthika Reddy steps down as Hyderabad Mayor

After several weeks of unsuccessful lobbying for her continuance in the post, city mayor Banda Karthika Reddy submitted her letter of resignation to Greater Hyderabad Municipal corporation commissioner MT Krishna Babu here on Monday.

Reddy will, however, continue as caretaker mayor until her resignation is accepted by the council and a new mayor takes her place.

The Special GHMC Council will meet on December 17 to accept her resignation.

The stepping down of Karthika Reddy will pave the way for transfer of power from the Congress to Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). As per an agreement reached between the two parties in 2009, a Congress cominee will hold the office of mayor and an MIM’s that of deputy mayor for the first two years.

While an MIM corporator will be the mayor for the next two years, a Congress corporator will be the deputy for the next two years.

The Congress will get the mayoral post again in the final year of the five-year term.

Deputy mayor Jaffer Hussain (MIM) will submit his resignation a day before the Special GHMC Council’s meeting to stand in mayoral election.

State Congress president Botcha Satyanarayana held a meeting with city ministers Mukesh Goud and Danam Nagender on Sunday and followed it up with another meeting with two other ministers J Geeta Reddy and Sabita Indra Reddy in the evening to discuss the matter.

Karthika Reddy was summoned and told to resign to honour the party’s agreement with its ally.