Telangana: Over 85 pc turnout in final phase of gram panchayat polls

Hyderabad, Dec 17 (PTI) More than 85 per cent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in the final phase of gram panchayat elections in Telangana on Wednesday, the SEC said.

The elections were held peacefully, and counting of votes was underway, officials said.

Of the 50,56,344 eligible voters, 43,37,024 cast their votes, recording a turnout of 85.77 per cent, the State Election Commission said.

Polling was conducted in 3,752 gram panchayats for 28,410 ward member seats.

As of 7 pm, 1,909 sarpanches and 17,808 ward members were declared elected, the SEC said.

"The elections concluded peacefully," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Mahesh M Bhagwat told PTI.

As many as 12,652 candidates contested for sarpanch posts, while 75,725 were in the fray for ward member positions, officials said.

Meanwhile, claiming that the Congress party’s dominance continued in the results of the third phase of the gram panchayat elections, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B Mahesh Kumar Goud said the villages had once again crowned the grand old party with victory.

He said the verdict delivered by the people stood as clear evidence of the performance of the Congress government, according to a release.

Goud said Congress-backed candidates’ sweeping victories in Sarpanch posts across the state reflect rural voters’ confidence in the party’s governance.

He added that the third-phase panchayat results serve as a "slap" to the opposition and indicate a clear shift in Telangana’s rural politics.

He stated that the election results clearly reflect the public-oriented governance, welfare and development schemes implemented over the past two years under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, as their benefits are reaching the people directly.

"The outcomes of all three phases of the Sarpanch elections highlight the positive effect of the government’s rural welfare programmes, and the people’s verdict will guide the strengthening of the Congress party in Telangana," the TPCC president said.

Earlier in the day, Telangana Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy and State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini reviewed the polling process of the third phase through webcasting at the State Election Commission office, a release said.

Rao said measures would be taken to ensure greater transparency in future elections by making extensive use of webcasting technology.

The DGP said the police had made elaborate security arrangements to ensure the peaceful conduct of the gram panchayat elections across the state.

The first phase of polling on December 11 recorded a turnout of 84.28 per cent, while the second phase on December 14 saw a turnout of 85.86 per cent.

The Telangana State Election Commission had announced a three-phase schedule for the gram panchayat elections, held on December 11, 14 and 17.

Following the recent bypoll to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency, which was won by the ruling Congress, the gram panchayat elections are being viewed as a test of the popularity of the Congress, the BRS and the BJP, although the polls are being conducted on a non-party basis.

Owing to legal hurdles related to the Congress government’s proposal to provide 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies, the Telangana government, on November 17, decided to conduct elections only for gram panchayats, deferring polls to other rural local bodies, including Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members. PTI VVK GDK SSK VVK SSK KH