Cong-backed Leaders Win 55% Village Posts
BRS supporters win 28% posts; BJP gets 4.5%
Hyderabad: The Congress asserted a strong lead in the first phase of the gram panchayat polls on Thursday, with party-backed candidates securing a clear majority of sarpanch positions. Though the elections are held without party symbols, all major political parties backed candidates, and initial trends indicated a clear advantage for the Congress.
By 9.30 pm, nearly 70 per cent of candidates supported by the Congress were declared elected as sarpanches.
Polling was conducted for 3,834 sarpanch posts and 27,628 ward member posts between 7 am and 1 pm, with counting beginning at 2 pm on Thursday. While elections were originally scheduled for 4,236 gram panchayats, 395 sarpanches were elected unopposed, and five panchayats received no nominations, reducing the number of contested posts.
Out of the total 4,236 gram panchayats, Congress emerged as the frontrunner with victories in 1,840 sarpanch posts. The opposition BRS secured 930 posts, placing it a distant second, while the BJP managed to win just 150. Another 412 sarpanch posts went to candidates backed by smaller parties, rebels of major parties, or independents.
Tight contests were witnessed in Hanamkonda, Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, and Wanaparthy districts, where Congress and BRS won nearly equal numbers of sarpanch posts. The BRS secured more seats than Congress in Siddipet district. In the remaining 25 districts, Congress registered a decisive lead over its rivals.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had addressed five public meetings earlier this month as part of the Congress government’s second anniversary programmes. Though the events were held in towns due to the enforcement of the election code in villages, the Chief Minister repeatedly urged voters to support Congress-backed candidates in gram panchayat polls to ensure seamless implementation of welfare schemes and development initiatives. He cautioned that electing opposition-backed representatives could lead to non-cooperation and potential obstacles in executing government programmes.