The first phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana, held on Thursday across 3,834 villages, witnessed a strong voter turnout of 84.28 per cent, according to officials.
A total of 45,15,141 voters cast their ballots in the crucial rural polls for the posts of the Sarpanch and 27,678 ward members. Elections for Deputy Sarpanchs were also held simultaneously.
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district registered the highest turnout at 92.88 per cent, while Bhadradri Kothagudem recorded the lowest at 71.79 per cent.
Polling began at 7 am, with officials allowing all the voters queued before 1 pm to cast their votes. Counting commenced at 2 pm.
By 7 pm, candidates supported by the Congress Party had secured victories in 1,200 gram panchayats, while BRS-backed candidates won in 600 villages.
BJP-supported candidates claimed around 100 villages, and independent candidates emerged victorious in 250 gram panchayats.
To ensure smooth polling, authorities deployed over one lakh personnel, including 3,591 Returning Officers, 93,905 polling staff, and 2,489 micro-observers. Polling stations were monitored through webcasting, and police maintained tight security across districts.
Despite the overall peaceful conduct, isolated incidents of tension were reported.
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In Urumadla village of Chityala mandal, Nalgonda district, a brief altercation occurred between Congress and BRS leaders, but both groups were dispersed by the police.
In Korlapahad of Ketepally mandal, clashes involving stones and knives between Congress and BRS workers left four people injured, who were subsequently hospitalised. Heavy police forces were deployed in the area to restore calm.
In Nagarkurnool district’s Veldanda mandal, polling was briefly halted in Kuppagandla’s 10th ward after ballot papers were found without the election symbol of candidate Derangula Yadamma. Voting resumed after 30 minutes with freshly-printed ballots.
According to an official press release, 396 gram panchayats saw unanimous elections, with Jukkal constituency alone seeing 25 of 164 gram panchayat sarpanchs elected unopposed. Jukkal MLA, Thota Lakshmikanta Rao, attributed this to the development and welfare initiatives of the Congress-led government.
In a notable example of social harmony, Bizzalwadi village of Jukkal mandal – a General category village – unanimously elected an SC candidate as its Sarpanch.
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