The ruling Congress has maintained dominance in rural Telangana in the recently-held Panchayat elections. The Congress-supported candidates bagged more than 53 percent of the sarpanch posts in the polls held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17.
The main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)-backed candidates won 25 per cent of the seats while the BJP-supported ones got only four per cent of the seats. Independents have emerged as a significant block by garnering a 10 per cent share.
The Telangana State Election Commission (TGSEC) notified a total of 12,728 Sarpanch and 1,12,242 Ward Member posts. Of them, as many as 1204 sarpanch and 25,551 ward members were elected unopposed. The candidates backed by the grand old party won nearly 6,800 Sarpanch posts, followed by the BRS (3,503) and BJP (697) and Independents (1,650).
Over 85.77 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the three-phase polling.
Though the verdict has come as a morale booster for the ruling party as its dominance continues, the BRS too can take comfort in the fact that it has done reasonably well. In fact, the BRS leaders view the party’s performance as a sign of revival, when compared to its disastrous performance in the rural belt in the December 2023 assembly elections.
“Our resurgence at grassroot level has begun. For the Congress, this is not a victory but a warning bell,” senior BRS leader Dileep Konatham said.
However, the state Congress chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud described the results as a resounding endorsement of the Revanth Reddy government’s policies. He cited welfare schemes and enhanced allocations for rural infrastructure as the reasons for continued public support.
The BJP, on the other hand, struggled to gain traction, often finishing behind independents even in constituencies represented by its MLAs or MPs.
The polls were held amid intense political one-upmanship in rural Telangana, particularly in the aftermath of the change of guard at the state level in the 2023 assembly elections.
Despite the absence of party symbols on ballot papers, political parties openly backed candidates and swiftly claimed credit for victories, including those secured unanimously. A substantial number of sarpanch posts were filled without contest.
The net result was a familiar hierarchy: the Congress in the vanguard, the BRS a distant second, and the BJP largely relegated to the fringes.
Voter turnout remained robust throughout the three phases, signalling sustained grassroots engagement.
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