Hyderabad, Dec 12 (IANS) The ruling Congress on Friday swept the first phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana, winning more than half of 4,236 Sarpanch posts. Candidates backed by Congress bagged 2,319 Sarpanch posts, including those elected unopposed.
Though the elections were fought on a non-party basis, the results show that Congress-backed candidates swept the polls in the majority of Gram Panchayats.
Main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was in second position, bagging 1,159 Sarpanch posts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was distant third with 188 posts. Others and independents were elected in 534 Gram Panchayats.
While 396 Sarpanches were elected unanimously, the polling was held for 3,834 Sarpanch posts in 31 districts on Thursday.
Barring Siddipet and Kumaram Bheem districts, the Congress secured a majority in all the districts.
The ruling party secured a clear majority in Nalgonda, Khammam, Medak, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Warangal, Adilabad, Surypapet, Karimnagar, Kamareddy, Jangaon, Nagakurnool, Narayanpet, Nizamabad, Nirmal, Peddalli, and Manechrial, Rajanna Sircilla, Vikarabad, Mulugu, Jayashankar Bhupalapally, and Jagtial districts.
BRS-backed candidates bagged the majority in Siddipet and Kumaram Bheem.
The BRS gave a tough fight to Congress in districts like Mahabubabad, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Sangareddy, Rangareddy, and Hanumakonda.
According to the State Election Commission, 84.28 per cent polling was recorded. Polling began at 7 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. for 3,834 Sarpanch posts and 27,628 Ward Member posts.
A total of 12,960 candidates were in the fray for Sarpanch posts, while 65,455 candidates competed for the Ward Member posts. More than 56 lakh voters were eligible to cast their votes at 37,562 polling centres spread across 189 mandals.
The counting of votes was taken up from 2 p.m. and continued past midnight. In Gram Panchayats where the margin of victory was one or two votes, recounting was taken up.
The poll notification was issued for 4,326 Sarpanch posts and 37,440 Ward Member posts. No nomination was filed for 5 Sarpanch posts and 169 Ward Member posts.
Sarpanches for 396 Gram Panchayats and 9,633 Ward Members were elected unanimously.
Courts had granted a stay for elections to one Gram Panchayat and 10 Ward Members.
A total of 56,19,430 electorate, comprising 27,41,070 males and 28,78,159 females, were eligible to cast their votes in the first phase. According to the SEC, 45,15,141 voters exercised their franchise.
Over one lakh polling staff were on duty. In 3,461 Gram Panchayats, direct webcasting had been arranged to ensure real-time monitoring of the polling process.
More than 50,000 police personnel were deployed to ensure peaceful polling.
Reacting to the poll results, state Congress President Mahesh Kumar Goud said they reflect people’s confidence in the Congress government.
As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the panchayat elections were to be held in three phases on December 11, 14, and 17 for 12,728 Sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 Ward Member posts.
A total of 1.66 crore votes in rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.
The Telangana Cabinet last month decided to conduct only Gram Panchayat elections in December as the Rs 3,000 crore grant, which should come from the Centre, will lapse by March 31, 2026.
Elections for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), and municipal corporations will be held after the High Court’s final orders on 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).
In October, the High Court struck down a government order providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies but allowed conduct of the elections with a 50 per cent cap on total reservation for all sections.
The SEC has provided 17.08 per cent reservation in Gram Panchayats for BCs. Out of the total 12,735 Gram Panchayats, 2,176 have been reserved for BCs.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
