Panchayat polls phase 2 sees 85 pc turnout, Congress claims decisive victory

Hyderabad: Over 85 per cent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of gram panchayat elections in Telangana on Sunday, the SEC said.

The elections concluded peacefully, and the counting of votes was underway.

Of the 54,40,339 eligible voters, 46,70,972 cast their votes, recording a turnout of 85.86 per cent, a press release said.

“The polling was held peacefully,” Additional DGP (Law and Order) Mahesh M Bhagwat told PTI.

Polling was conducted from 7 am to 1 pm for 3,911 gram panchayat posts and 29,917 ward member seats.

A total of 12,782 candidates contested sarpanch posts, while 71,071 nominees vied for ward member positions. Counting of votes began at 2 pm.

The first phase of elections on December 11 recorded a voter turnout of 84.28 per cent.

Claiming a resounding victory for Congress-supported candidates in a majority of sarpanch positions across the state, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B Mahesh Kumar Goud said the results reflected the rural electorate’s confidence in the government’s governance.

Expressing satisfaction over the outcome, Goud said the people’s verdict was clear approval of the Congress government’s performance, according to a release.

He attributed the success to coordinated efforts by ministers, MPs, MLAs and local leaders, along with well-planned campaign strategies implemented down to the village level.

“People have given a clear mandate to the slogan of welfare, social justice and development. The emphatic victory of Congress candidates in the sarpanch elections is a strong symbol of this,” he said.

Goud added that the results of the first and second phases of the sarpanch elections reflected the positive impact of the government’s welfare initiatives at the grassroots level and would serve as a guiding force to further strengthen the Congress in Telangana.

The Telangana State Election Commission had announced a three-phase schedule for gram panchayat elections to be held on December 11, 14, and 17.

Following the recent bypoll in the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency, which the ruling Congress won, the gram panchayat elections are being seen as a test of the popularity of the Congress, BRS, and BJP.

Owing to legal hurdles surrounding the Congress government’s move to provide 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies, the Telangana government on November 17 decided to conduct elections only for gram panchayats, deferring polls for other rural local bodies, including Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members.