The verdict offers consolation and underscores the scale of the challenge ahead for the BRS. But, for the BJP, the elections laid bare its shallow rural penetration in Telangana.
Published Dec 18, 2025 | 5:27 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 18, 2025 | 5:27 PM
Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and BRS supremo KCR
Synopsis: The BRS has specific reasons to be upbeat even though the Congress romped home in more than half of the Sarpanch posts polled across three phases. The Opposition party, after its abysmally poor performances in the Assembly and Parliamentary elections, has seen a revival of the pink wave in the villages.
The ruling Congress in Telangana continued its political dominance in the state by claiming victory in the three-phase elections to the gram panchayats. The main Opposition party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), however, is not sulking.
BRS has specific reasons to be upbeat even though the Congress had romped home in more than half of the sarpanch posts polled across three phases.
The Opposition party, after its abysmally poor performances in the Assembly and Parliamentary elections, has seen a revival of the pink wave, the organisation’s colour, in the villages.
Senior BRS leader Dileep Konatham did not miss a second to announce the loud and clear political message his party has delivered. Upbeat over the party’s resurgence at the grassroots level, he took to X.
“The people of Telangana’s villages have delivered an unambiguous verdict. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has won in over 4,000 Gram Panchayats, signalling that our revival has begun from the very villages where we faced setbacks in the 2023 Assembly elections,” he posted.
Konatham did not hesitate to fire a warning shot at the Congress party. The results exposed the government’s hollow claims of popular support, he said.
“Despite being in power, despite having money, machinery, and an aggressive campaign involving the chief minister and ministers, Congress could barely cross the 50 per cent mark. This is not a victory, it is a warning bell,” he remarked.
The Congress, however, seemed unperturbed and basked in the latest glory.
Though officially non-party contests, the village-level elections unfolded as a de facto political referendum, with outcomes broadly mapped along affiliations claimed by the ruling Congress, the BRS, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The elections, conducted by the Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) in three phases on 11, 14 and 17 December, covered about 12,728 Gram Panchayats and over 1.12 lakh ward member posts across all 31 districts.
The polls were held amid intense political one-upmanship in rural Telangana, particularly in the aftermath of the change of guard at the state level in December 2023.
Despite the absence of party symbols on ballot papers, political parties openly backed candidates and swiftly claimed credit for victories, including those secured unanimously. A substantial number of sarpanch posts were filled without contest.
The net result was a familiar hierarchy: the Congress in the vanguard, the BRS a distant second, and the BJP largely relegated to the fringes.
Voter turnout remained robust throughout the three phases, signalling sustained grassroots engagement. Turnout hovered around 84 percent in the first phase, stayed at similar levels in the second, and peaked in the final phase with 85.77 percent polling. In the third phase alone, more than 43 lakh voters exercised their franchise out of about 50.56 lakh eligible voters.
In Phase 1, held on 11 December across roughly 4,236 Gram Panchayats, the Congress set the tone early, securing between 55 and 60 per cent of the sarpanch posts — an estimated 2,216 to 2,325 seats.
The BRS followed with around 1,130 to 1,180 seats, accounting for roughly 28 to 30 percent, while the BJP trailed with about 180 to 260 seats. The remaining posts went to independents and smaller groups. The Congress attributed its strong showing to welfare delivery and organisational reach, claiming a significant share of the unanimous victories as well.
Phase 2 on 14 December saw polling in around 4,333 Gram Panchayats, though results were declared for slightly fewer contested seats. Once again, the Congress retained its edge, winning an estimated 2,030 to 2,245 sarpanch posts—just over half the total.
The BRS showed pockets of resilience, particularly in select districts, winning between 1,075 and 1,297 seats. The BJP’s performance remained modest, with roughly 230 to 270 seats, even as independents continued to outpace it in several regions.
The final phase on 17 December proved to be the Congress’s crowning moment. Covering about 4,159 Gram Panchayats, with polling held in nearly 3,750 contested seats, the phase recorded the highest turnout of the election. Counting concluded on 18 December, with the Congress claiming victory in about 52 to 55 percent of the sarpanch posts — roughly 1,920 to 2,200 seats.
The BRS secured around 1,100 to 1,200 seats, while the BJP managed about 230. Independents and others accounted for the remainder.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president B Mahesh Kumar Goud described the results as a resounding endorsement of the A Revanth Reddy dispensation’s governance. He cited welfare schemes and enhanced allocations for rural infrastructure.
BRS leaders, meanwhile, pointed to signs of revival in traditional strongholds such as Siddipet. The BJP struggled to gain traction, often finishing behind independents even in constituencies represented by its MLAs or MPs.
Aggregated across all three phases, the Congress is estimated to have won between 6,166 and over 6,800 sarpanch posts — comfortably crossing the 60 percent mark. The BRS accounted for roughly 3,300 to 3,700 seats, or about a quarter to a third of the total, while the BJP was confined to around 650 to 750 seats, barely five percent.
The remaining posts went to independents and smaller outfits.
BRS’s Konatham claimed that the Congress had suffered humiliating defeats in several key gram panchayats, including constituencies represented by ministers and sitting MLAs.
“Even in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s home district, the verdict was clear — there is unmistakable BRS supremacy,” he claimed.
Referring to Sircilla and Siddipet, he said the Congress was “completely wiped out” in the two constituencies. “The one-sided victories there show that the BRS cadre base remains intact and formidable,” he added.
The BRS leader also took a swipe at the BJP, saying the party had been pushed to the margins of Telangana’s rural politics.
“The BJP could secure only about five per cent of the Gram Panchayats, finishing behind even independents in several places. This clearly reflects its lack of grassroots presence,” Konatham said.
Drawing a comparison with the past, Konatham noted that when the BRS was in power, it had swept nearly 70 percent of the seats in the 2019 Panchayat elections. “Today, despite holding office, the Congress could not even come close to that performance. Power without people’s trust is meaningless,” he said.
“The village voter has spoken. Telangana is witnessing the return of pink strength from the ground up. This verdict is not just about panchayats—it is the foundation of what is to come,” Konatham added.
Taken together, the gram panchayat election results are seen as the renewal of Congress’s rural mandate and reinforce its political narrative heading into future electoral battles.
For the BRS, the verdict offers consolation and underscores the scale of the challenge ahead. However, for the BJP, the elections laid bare its shallow rural penetration in Telangana.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
