Congress Plans Greater Focus on Rural Polls
Revanth Reddy orders tighter coordination as rebels and lapses dent first-phase gains
Hyderabad: The Congress has decided to approach the second and third phases of the gram panchayat elections, scheduled for December 14 and 17, with greater seriousness after assessing its performance in phase 1.
The party, which claimed victory in 2,864 of the 4,236 sarpanch seats in phase-1, is reportedly dissatisfied as the tally fell short of its internal target of securing 80 to 90 per cent of the seats. Its actual performance remained below the 70 per cent mark.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy convened a meeting with senior party leaders on Friday to review the district-wise outcomes of phase-1 and to fine-tune strategies for the upcoming rounds. According to party sources, the Chief Minister stressed the need for strengthened coordination, effective poll management, and improved synergy between MLAs and grassroots leaders to consolidate the Congress’ position.
Revanth Reddy is said to have expressed confidence that a strong pro-Congress wave was evident in the first-phase results, pointing out that the party alone secured nearly 70 per cent of the seats while the BRS and the BJP together managed only about 30 per cent. He reportedly observed that the losses in several seats were not due to public dissatisfaction with the Congress government but were largely the result of local lapses within the party.
The Chief Minister noted gaps in coordination among party leaders, lack of collective efforts, and strained relations between party MLAs and village-level cadres. He also highlighted internal differences, including instances where multiple Congress aspirants contested as rebels, which ultimately benefited the BRS in several sarpanch seats.
Revanth Reddy stressed that many defeats were by narrow margins, sometimes in single digits, and could have been prevented with better organisational unity. He directed party leaders to immediately correct these deficiencies to ensure a dominant performance in the remaining phases, where elections will be held for more than 8,000 gram panchayats.
