New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described the party’s performance in the Telangana local body elections as an endorsement of its governance model centred on welfare, dignity and inclusive growth.
“Heartfelt thanks to every Congress ‘karyakarta’ and leader. This victory belongs to you and to the people of Telangana,” LoP Gandhi said in a post on X.
The ruling Congress secured close to 60 per cent of the urban local bodies, winning 64 of the 116 municipalities and three of the seven municipal corporations.
“Our vision of a Prajala Telangana, where progress reaches every family, remains unwavering,” Rahul Gandhi said in the X post.
The principal Opposition, the BRS, won 13 municipalities and three corporations, while 38 municipalities produced no clear majority.
This has led to intense efforts by both Congress and BRS to secure support from independents and smaller parties ahead of the election of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons.
Despite the fractured outcomes, Congress leaders claimed the party was in a position to control about three-fourths of the municipalities.
In the previous municipal polls in 2020, the then ruling TRS, now BRS, had dominated more than 100 urban local bodies.
The Congress has also bagged the Mancherial, Ramagundam and Nalgonda corporations. In the 60-member Kothagudem corporation, Congress and the Communist Party of India won 22 seats each, with leaders from both sides describing the contest as friendly.
The BJP failed to secure any municipality on its own but emerged as the single-largest party in the Karimnagar corporation with 30 seats in the 66-member body. The party also became the single-largest formation in Nizamabad corporation.
Both Karimnagar and Nizamabad fall among the eight Lok Sabha constituencies held by the BJP in Telangana. Across municipalities, Congress won 1,347 of the 2,582 wards, while BRS secured 717.
The BJP finished third with 261 wards, and others, including the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and independents, took 256.
In municipal corporations, results were available for 378 of the 414 divisions. Congress won 177 divisions, BRS 57, BJP 70, and others 74.
Polling was held on Wednesday across 116 municipalities and seven corporations, with over 73 per cent turnout. Counting began at 8 am on Friday under tight security.
–IANS
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