Cong sweep in Telangana civic polls continues, wins 7 of 8 municipalities

The ruling Congress on Tuesday won chairperson posts in seven of the eight Telangana municipalities where elections were held, while the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) secured one post.

Congress candidates clinched the chairperson positions in Thorrur and Jangaon municipalities after a draw of lots, as both the Congress and the BRS had equal strength in the respective civic bodies.

Elections to 105 of the 116 municipalities were conducted on 11 February, while polling in 11 municipalities was deferred to Tuesday due to various reasons, including pushing and shoving between Congress and BRS workers during the election process.

Of these, elections were completed in eight municipalities, while voting in three was deferred again because of pending court cases and related issues.

The State Election Commission said the Model Code of Conduct, which was in force during the municipal elections, has been lifted with immediate effect.

Elections were held for 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations, with counting of votes taken up on 13 February. The Congress secured more than 1,300 of the total 2,582 wards, while the BRS won around 700 wards and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about 275 wards.

On Monday, the Congress had also won mayoral posts in five of the seven municipal corporations and chairperson posts in 81 municipalities, extending its dominance in the civic polls.