Telangana civic polls: Congress sweep boosts Revanth, BRS totters, BJP routed

In a shot in the arm for the A Revanth Reddy-led government, the ruling Congress seemed to be headed for a sweep in the elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana, with the principal Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the BJP facing setbacks. As the counting of ballot papers progressed Friday, the Congress was leading in 79 municipalities and four corporations by the night. The BRS was leading in 25 municipalities and the BJP in four. As many as eight municipalities seemed to have thrown up a hung verdict, with both the Congress and the BRS now rallying the winning independents to come to power there. The Congress was leading in four corporations including Mancherial, Ramagundam, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar. In Kothagudem, the CPI was leading, even though it has not forged an alliance with the Congress. In its Karimnagar and Nizamabad strongholds, the BJP was ahead. The BRS was not leading in any corporation. Out of the 2,988 wards whose results were declared, the Congress candidates bagged 1,536 seats as against the BRS’s 779, according to the Telangana State Election Commission’s data. The BJP managed to win only 333 wards. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 70 seats while the CPI (M) got 13. The elections were seen as a test of the Congress’s urban appeal and as a “mini-referendum” on its over two-year-old government which assumed office after the party clinched the Assembly elections in December 2023. Revanth led the Congress’s campaign for the civic body polls, held on February 11, from the front. In their high-voltage electioneering, Revanth and his Cabinet colleagues projected the welfare schemes implemented by their government as the party’s key plank. “We focused on Hyderabad rising and development works,” a Congress insider said. The Congress leaders also targeted the BRS leadership – especially the Kalvakuntla family of former CM K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR, the BRS chief. “We made sure that the message of KCR’s absence from the public scene is communicated well to the public,” the Congress insider said. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud told The Indian Express that the urban belts of the state have also stood by the Congress and “expressed happiness” with the development agenda of the Revanth Reddy government. “There is no one to compete with the Congress in the state.We have won” he said, as Congress workers celebrated at Gandhi Bhavan, the party’s headquarters in Hyderabad. The BRS claimed they were able to give a “tough fight” to the Congress. “In dozens of seats we have lost by small margins,” a BRS leader said. • 1Sharad Pawar pushed to corner as Sunetra tightens her grip on NCP, merger unravels • 2In Odisha churn, Patnaik, Congress join hands against BJP in RS polls, bat for a ‘common face’ • 3Congress stands isolated once more as other Opposition parties, from DMK to TMC to SP, back Kejriwal, admonish BJP • 460 lakh Bengal voters in balance: Tall order for deleted electors to return to rolls, say officials • 5Fate of 60 lakh Bengal voters in limbo; EROs, electors in dark on process, reasons why names were flagged Addressing a press conference, BRS working president K T Rama Rao or KTR said his party has emerged as the main opposition against the Congress in these polls, with the BJP lagging “far behind” it. The BJP, which was relegated to the third position, said while the party was not happy with the results, it was “able to make a dent in the bipolar electoral scene”. “It seems, the Congress, BRS, AIMIM and Left parties worked together to make the BJP lose,” state BJP chief Ramachander Rao told The Indian Express. The Congress is buoyed by the outcome of these civic body polls, even as decks are being cleared for the elections in the newly trifurcated core urban region of Hyderabad soon. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) and Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) will together have 300 wards, which are slated for polls later this year. “The Congress is going to sweep the mega GHMC elections too,” Mahesh Goud claimed.