Telangana GP polls: BRS gains in key villages, Congress leaders suffer setback as kin lose

The first phase of gram panchayat elections delivered surprising outcomes, with the BRS making gains in key Kodangal villages, a 95-year-old winning a sarpanch seat, and several Congress leaders facing setbacks as their kin lost. A few contests were decided by a coin toss

Hyderabad: The first phase of gram panchayat elections saw a mix of intense local battles and interesting outcomes, with the BRS recording notable gains in a few politically sensitive villages, a 95-year-old contestant winning a sarpanch seat and a Congress candidate attempting suicide after defeat. Several prominent Congress leaders faced setbacks as their kin lost in their native villages. A toss decided the winner in a village in Adilabad.

A few villages in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Kodangal constituency, which were at the forefront of protests against land acquisition for industrial units, elected BRS-backed sarpanches and ward members. Among these, residents of Polepally, Rotibanda Thanda, Lagacherla, Hakimpet and others had earlier staged protests against land acquisition and alleged physical and mental abuse by police.

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Despite what locals described as Congress pumping in heavy money and using muscle power, villagers in Polepally elected BRS-backed Raghavender as Sarpanch, while in Rotibanda Thanda, BRS-supported Rukkamma secured the seat. Congress candidates won in Lagacherla and Hakimpet, although BRS-supported Mudavath Pooja won from Sattarukunta Thanda and Sujatha from Nasukanpally.

Tension prevailed in Khajahmadpally village under Kodangal mandal after Congress-backed candidate Telugu Lakshmi attempted suicide following her electoral loss. Locals rushed her to hospital. Further details are awaited.

A striking highlight of the day came from Suryapet district where former Minister G Jagadish Reddy’s father Ramchandra Reddy, aged 95, won as Sarpanch of Nagaram village, securing a comfortable victory.

In contrast, family members and close relatives of several Congress MLAs and MPs lost sarpanch elections. In Shadnagar, MLA Veerlapally Shankar’s native village of Veerlapally, BRS-supported Pandu emerged victorious. In Chinna Bandirevu, native village of BRS turncoat and Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkat Rao, BRS-backed M Jogaiah won as Sarpanch.

Congress MLA from Mahabubabad Murali Naik’s sister-in-law B Kausalya lost the election in his native village. In the native village of Telangana Tourism Corporation chairman Patel Ramesh Reddy, BRS-supported candidate secured the seat. In Jadcherla MLA J Anirudh Reddy’s village Rangareddy Gudem, BJP candidate won by six votes.

Polling for 3,834 sarpanches and 27,628 ward member posts began at 7 am across several districts. The State Election Commission reported a poll percentage of 84.28, with 45,15,141 votes cast. Counting began after polling concluded at 1 pm and results were declared through the evening. By 8.30 pm, results for 1,930 gram panchayats and 14,985 ward members had been announced.

In several places, candidates won by margins of just one or two votes, leading to recounts. Instances of tie votes prompted lucky draws or coin tosses. In Dhaba Bi village under Icchoda mandal in Adilabad district, candidates Rameshwar and Eshwar secured 176 votes each, after which Eshwar was declared winner through a toss.