Violence, Kidnap Charges, Deadlock Stall Civic Chief Elections in Jangaon, Thorrur, Dornakal, Sultanabad

Warangal/Karimnagar: Elections to the posts of chairperson were postponed in Jangaon, Thorrur, Dornakal and Sultanabad municipalities on Monday following clashes between Congress and BRS workers and lack of quorum in council meetings.

Officials rescheduled the elections to February 17 after swearing-in ceremonies were completed in other municipalities in the erstwhile Warangal and Karimnagar districts.

In Thorrur, the dispute centred on ex-officio votes. The BRS has nine wards against the Congress’s seven. The Congress sought to register MLA Yashaswini Reddy and MP Kadiyam Kavya as ex-officio members.

BRS leaders, led by former minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, objected, alleging that Kadiyam Kavya had already registered her ex-officio vote in Warangal and was not eligible to vote in Thorrur. The situation led to physical scuffles between cadres, and police intervened. Congress leaders, in turn, alleged that the husband of a BRS elected candidate was a government employee and that the corporator should be disqualified.

In Jangaon, the election was deferred by RDO Gopi Ram after Congress councillors staged a sit-in, seeking an inquiry into the alleged kidnapping of a BRS councillor before the voting process. Outside the municipal office, supporters of both parties raised slogans and resorted to stone-pelting. Police conducted a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

In Dornakal, the Congress won 11 of the 15 wards, while the BRS secured four. In Sultanabad, the Congress won 12 of the 15 wards. However, in both municipalities, the elections were adjourned as members failed to reach a consensus on candidates for chairperson and deputy chairperson and did not attend the meetings, resulting in lack of quorum.

Authorities said the elections in all four municipalities would be held on February 17 under heightened security arrangements.