ADILABAD/SANGAREDDY/NALGONDA: The ruling Congress and the opposition BRS split honours in some municipalities across the state — there were clear majorities in northern and southern districts while the central region threw up several hung civic bodies, as per the results declared on Friday.
In the northern districts of Adilabad and Mancherial, Congress secured firm control in multiple urban local bodies. The party won the Mancherial Municipal Corporation with 44 of 60 divisions. The party will have its first mayor since the corporation was formed last year. Congress also won clear majorities in Chennur, Luxettipet and Nirmal municipalities. In Nirmal, Congress won 24 of 42 wards, while the BJP secured 13 and BRS two.
Several municipalities in the region returned fractured verdicts. Bellampally was evenly split between Congress and BRS with 14 wards each, while independents emerged as key players. Kagaznagar, Asifabad and Khanapur also saw no party reaching a majority. BRS, however, secured Kothapally municipality in alliance with the CPI.
Moving south to the erstwhile Medak district, Congress and BRS shared the honours, winning eight municipalities each out of 20. Congress secured Sangareddy, Sadashivpet, Jogipet, Narayankhed, Medak, Ramayampet and Kohir, besides Husnabad in the constituency of Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar. BRS won Dubbak, Toopran, Gajwel, Narsapur, Indresham, Gummadidala, Gaddapotharam and Cheriyal.
In Sangareddy town, Congress won 22 of 38 wards, limiting BRS to 10 despite an intensive campaign led by former minister T Harish Rao and district president Chinta Prabhakar. Congress also won Sadashivpet with 16 of 26 wards. The results were seen as a setback for BRS in the constituency of TPCC working president T Jagga Reddy.
Several municipalities in Medak district remain hung. In Isnapur, BRS won 12 wards and Congress 10, with four independents holding the balance. In Jinnaram, BRS led with eight wards, followed by Congress with six and BJP with four. Zaheerabad and Narsapur also await post-poll negotiations involving BJP, AIMIM and independents.
In southern Telangana, Congress recorded a near clean sweep in the combined Nalgonda district. The party won the newly upgraded Nalgonda Municipal Corporation with 27 divisions, reducing BRS to nine. Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy led the campaign.