Congress bags more than 50 pc seats in 2nd phase of Telangana panchayat polls
Hyderabad: The Congress party bagged more than half of the Gram Panchayats in the second phase of rural local body polls held in Telangana, while the main opposition BRS improved its performance to give a tough fight to the ruling party.
Out of 4,333 Sarpanch posts, which went to polls in the second phase, Congress-backed candidates bagged 2,245 seats (51.81 per cent)
The main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) stood second with 1,188 seats. Compared to the first phase, BRS improved its performance to give a tough fight to the ruling party.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was distant third with 268 seats. Independents and others won 624 seats.
Polling was held on Sunday for 3,911 Sarpanch posts and 29,917 Ward Member posts in 193 mandals.
Out of 54,40,339 voters, 85.86 per cent (46,70,972) cast their votes to decide the fate of 12,782 candidates for Sarpanch posts and 71,071 for Ward Member posts.
Under the second phase of elections, the State Election Commission (SEC) had issued a notification for 4,333 Sarpanch posts and 38,350 Ward Member posts. Of the candidates for 415 Sarpanch and 8,307 Ward Members were elected unopposed. No nominations were filed for 108 Ward Member posts.
Elections were not conducted in two Gram Panchayats and 18 Wards.
Counting of votes was taken up from 2 p.m. after the polling came to an end at 1 p.m.
Congress secured a majority in all districts barring Siddipet, Komaram Bheem, Jangaon and Nirmal. The BRS won majority seats in Siddipet, Komaram Bheem and Jangaon districts while the BJP emerged on top in Nirmal. The ruling party bagged majority seats in 27 districts.
The winner for the two Sarpanch seats was decided by a draw of lots after the two top candidates in both places secured an equal number of votes.
Five candidates won the Sarpanch election with a majority of just one vote.
In the two phases, Congress-backed candidates won 4,579 out of 8,568 Panchayat posts. The BRS stood second with 2,357 seats. The BJP could win only 457, while Independents and others bagged 1,162 seats.
The first phase polls were held on December 11, and 3,834 Sarpanches, 27346 Ward Members and 3,347 Upa Sarpanches were elected. While 56,19,430 were registered voters, 45,15,141 exercised their franchise, registering 84.28 per cent turnout.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud said the results of the second phase reflect the confidence people have in the Congress government.
Minister for Transport and BC Welfare Ponnam Prabhakar appealed to people to support the Congress candidate in the third and final phase for the development of villages.
As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the third phase will be held on December 17.
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.
