Congress sweeps 2nd phase of Gram Panchayat polls, wins half of 4,333 sarpanch, ward member seats

Hyderabad: Congress-backed candidates swept the second phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana, winning over half of the total posts and emerging as the dominant force across rural areas.

Congress dominates across districts

Out of the 4,333 Gram Panchayat sarpanch and ward member posts contested in the second phase, Congress-supported candidates secured a majority in all districts except Siddipet, Kumuram Bheem–Asifabad, Jangaon, and Nirmal.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) mounted a strong challenge but finished second overall, while Independent candidates occupied the third position. The BJP registered its best performance in Nirmal district, where its supported candidates won a majority of seats.

Party-wise performance

According to results available till 12.30 a.m., including unanimous (unopposed) victories, the seat tally stood as follows:

Congress: 2,297 seats (51.9%)

BRS: 1,191 seats (27.5%)

BJP: 257 seats (6.2%)

Others and Independents: 578 seats (14.4%)

Among the winners, CPM-backed candidates won 38 seats, while CPI-supported candidates secured 28 seats. In the first phase of the elections, Congress had won 2,425 seats, followed by BRS (1,168), BJP (189), and others (418).

Record turnout in Rural Areas

Despite cold weather conditions, polling witnessed enthusiastic participation across rural Telangana. Voters queued up at polling stations from early morning, resulting in a turnout of 85.86%, which was 1.58 percentage points higher than the polling percentage recorded in the first phase.

Officials attributed the higher turnout to the polls being held on a Sunday, enabling greater voter participation.

Polling and Election details

The second phase covered elections to 4,333 sarpanch posts and 38,350 ward member posts. Of these, 415 sarpanch posts and 8,307 ward member posts were decided unanimously.

Nominations were not filed in one village each in Mancherial and Warangal districts, three villages in Nalgonda district, and 108 wards. Elections were postponed in two villages and 18 wards.

Polling was conducted in 3,911 Gram Panchayats across 193 mandals, covering 29,917 ward member posts. A total of 12,782 candidates contested for sarpanch posts, while 1,071 candidates were in the fray for ward member positions.

District-wise polling trends

As in the first phase, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district recorded the highest voter turnout at 91.72%, while Nizamabad district reported the lowest turnout at 76.71%.

Polling crossed 80% in as many as 29 districts, reflecting sustained voter interest in grassroots democracy.

Congress leads in 27 districts

Congress-backed candidates secured majority positions in 27 districts, including Nalgonda, Khammam, Kamareddy, Jagtial, Sangareddy, Vikarabad, Suryapet, Nizamabad, Warangal, Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Mulugu, Medak, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Nagarkurnool, Narayanpet, Gadwal, Bhupalpally, Peddapalli, Mancherial, Mahabubabad, Rajanna Sircilla, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, Rangareddy, Hanumakonda, and Karimnagar.

BRS and BJP hold ground in select districts

BRS-backed candidates emerged victorious in Siddipet, Kumuram Bheem–Asifabad, and Jangaon districts. BJP-backed candidates secured a majority in Nirmal district and finished second behind the Congress in Adilabad.

Peaceful polls, close contests

Polling was largely peaceful across the State, barring a few stray incidents. Election officials monitored the process through webcasting. Polling concluded at 1 p.m., and counting began at 2 p.m., with several results decided by narrow margins.

Following the declaration of results on Sunday night, officials also conducted upa-sarpanch (deputy sarpanch) elections by convening meetings of ward members.