Published Feb 13, 2026 | 8:13 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 13, 2026 | 9:00 PM
Elections
Synopsis: Elections were held for 2,996 wards across 116 municipalities and seven corporations on 11 February, recording a voter turnout of 73 percent. Counting began at 8 a.m. on Friday, 13 February. The election of municipal chairpersons and mayors is scheduled for 16 February.
The Congress has secured a majority of municipalities and municipal corporations in Telangana. Interestingly, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has staged a strong resurgence, emerging as a formidable challenger in several urban pockets.
Elections were held for 2,996 wards across 116 municipalities and seven corporations on 11 February, recording a voter turnout of 73 percent. Counting began at 8 a.m. on Friday, 13 February. The election of municipal chairpersons and mayors is scheduled for 16 February.
While the Congress is celebrating its victory, the performance of the BRS is far from insignificant. By evening, the Congress had won 1,458 wards, and counting was still on. The BRS was not far behind, claiming 744 wards and demonstrating that its organisational machinery remains intact in key regions. As counting entered its final phases on Friday, the party once synonymous with urban dominance re-emerged as the principal challenger.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who is currently in Delhi, met senior party leader Priyanka Gandhi and apprised her of the party’s performance in the municipal polls. TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said in Nizamabad: “It is a positive vote for the progressive and welfare-oriented governance in the state.”
BRS leaders expressed satisfaction over their performance. Party working president K. T. Rama Rao addressed a press conference on Friday evening, striking an energetic and confident tone. “We have done very well. We have shown the Congress its place,” he said.
Of the seven corporations, the Congress has bagged Ramagundam, Mancherial and Nalgonda, and is leading in Mahabubnagar. The BJP is leading in Karimnagar and Nizamabad. The CPI has emerged as the single largest party in Kothagudem. With the support of its ally, the Congress, it is likely to secure a majority. Interestingly, K. T. Rama Rao has also extended support to the CPI in Kothagudem. The BRS has won eight divisions in the Kothagudem corporation.
BRS leaders said that since the elections would not alter power equations at the state level, they did not expect dramatic upheavals; yet, the party has delivered a strong performance.
K. T. Rama Rao said the party is poised to win 30 to 35 of the 116 municipalities that went to the polls. “We have already won 15 municipalities and another 15 to 20 are on the way,” he said, adding, “Sometimes even the Chandrudu (moon) gets behind a cloud,” an apparent reference to KCR and explaining the rough patch that the BRS has faced after the last Assembly elections.
The BRS’s spirited performance was visible in some districts. For instance in Jogulamba Gadwal district,, the BRS won 30 wards to the Congress’s 29 in four municipalities in a nail-biting contest. In Rangareddy district, its traditional bastion, the BRS led in 32 of the first 73 declared wards, while Congress secured 27. In Medak and parts of Mahabubnagar, contests were equally fierce, with margins often as slim as 30 to 50 votes.
The BRS’s performance is significant as it comes after setbacks in the 2023 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as well as defections to the Congress and BJP. Despite these reverses, the party, led by K. T. Rama Rao and Harish Rao, tapped into discontent over alleged neglect of urban infrastructure and farmers by the ruling dispensation.
Interestingly, the BRS’s performance was much better in the 2020 municipal elections when it was in power. It bagged 1,704 seats. However, the Congress, which is in power now, could get only 1,310 seats, which shows its weakness, a BRS supporter said. As an opposition party, the Congress won only 576 seats in 2020, but the BRS, as an opposition party now, has cornered 697 seats.
In several municipalities in the current elections, its strategy of fielding strong local candidates and leveraging anti-incumbency paid dividends. In Wanaparthy, it was competitive in 36 of 61 declared wards, in Vikarabad, it won 14 of the first 41. Even in Congress strongholds like Madhira, where the ruling party won 18 of 22 wards, the BRS secured a victory after a recount.
The BJP finished a distant third with 274 wards, mainly in northern districts. Its alliance with Jana Sena had limited impact. State president N. Ramachander Rao claimed improvement, saying the party had won over 250 wards and emerged as the single largest party in six municipalities. He added that the BJP is on course to win the Karimnagar and Nizamabad corporations and could secure chairperson posts in Raikal, Narayanpet and Adilabad with support from ex-officio members and independents.
As attention shifts to 16 February for the election of mayors and chairpersons, intense political maneuvering is expected in 34 hung municipalities. It is said the BRS has reportedly moved its councillors to secure locations to prevent poaching, a tactic also adopted by the BJP in Nizamabad.
The results show that while the Congress has scored a significant urban victory, the BRS remains very much in the game. Telangana’s political landscape, it appears, will continue to witness a keen three-cornered contest in electoral battles, going forward.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
