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Hyderabad: The Congress party bagged more than half of the Gram Panchayats in the second phase of rural local body polls held in Telangana, while the main opposition BRS improved its performance to give a tough fight to the ruling party.
Out of 4,333 Sarpanch posts, which went to polls in the second phase, Congress-backed candidates bagged 2,245 seats (51.81 per cent)
The main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) stood second with 1,188 seats. Compared to the first phase, BRS improved its performance to give a tough fight to the ruling party.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was distant third with 268 seats. Independents and others won 624 seats.
Congress secured a majority in all districts barring Siddipet, Komaram Bheem, Jangaon and Nirmal. The BRS won majority seats in Siddipet, Komaram Bheem and Jangaon districts while the BJP emerged on top in Nirmal. The ruling party bagged majority seats in 27 districts.
Polling was held on Sunday for 3,911 Sarpanch posts and 29,917 Ward Member posts in 193 mandals.
The polling, which began at 7 a.m. under tight security, concluded at 1 p.m. The counting of votes was taken up from 2 p.m.
Out of 57.22 lakh voters (29.26 lakh female and 27.96 lakh male), 85.86 percent cast their votes to decide the fate of 12,782 candidates for Sarpanch posts and 71,071 for Ward Member posts.
Under the second phase of elections, the State Election commission (SEC) had issued notification for 4,333 Sarpanch posts and 38,350 Ward Member posts. Of them candidates for 415 Sarpanch and 8,307 Ward Members were elected unopposed. No nominations were filed for 108 Ward Member posts.
Elections were not conducted in two Gram Panchayats and 18 Wards.
The SEC had deployed 4,593 returning officers, 30,661 employees for conducting the second phase of elections. A total of 2,489 micro-observers were appointed to oversee the poll process.
The winner for the two Sarpanch seats was decided by a draw of lots after the two top candidates in both places secured an equal number of votes.
Five candidates won the Sarpanch election with a majority of just one vote.
In the two phases, Congress-backed candidates won 4,579 out of 8,568 Panchayat posts. The BRS stood second with 2,357 seats. The BJP could win only 457, while Independents and others bagged 1,162 seats.
As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17 for 12,728 Sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 Ward Member posts.
A total 1.66 crore votes in rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.
The Telangana Cabinet last month decided to conduct only Gram Panchayat elections in December as the Rs 3,000 crore grant, which should come from the Centre, will lapse by March 31, 2026.
Elections for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and municipal corporations will be held after the High Court’s final orders on 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).
In October, the High Court struck down a government order providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies but allowed conduct of the elections with a 50 per cent cap on total reservation for all sections.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2025 3:27 pm