HYDERABAD: Considered a stronghold of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and backbone of party supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, North Telangana has thrown up a major shock for the pink party.Having faced crushing defeats in 2014 and 2018, the Congress in 2023 won a majority of the seats in the region. It performed exceptionally well in Nizamabad, winning Nizamabad Rural, Bodhan, Yellareddy and Jukkal. The BRS lost in Nizamabad Urban, Armoor and Kamareddy to the BJP, its candidates winning only in Balkonda and Banswada. In 2018, the BRS won eight seats and the Congress one.
Adilabad too voted against the pink party, giving victories to Congress candidates in Khanapur, Bellampally, Mancherial and Chennur. The BRS, which had dominated nine out of 10 Assembly seats in 2018, won in Boath and Asifabad this time. Significantly, the BJP won four Assembly constituencies in the erstwhile district.
In Karimnagar, the Congress won Manthani, Ramagundam, Peddapalli, Choppadandi, Dharmapuri, Vemulawada, Husnabad and Manakondur. The BRS secured victories in Sircilla, Korutla, Karimnagar, Jagtial and Huzurabad. BJP MLA Eatala Rajender, who had won 11 of the 13 elections from Huzurabad, tasted defeat in this election.
Warangal voters backed the Congress so much so it bagged 10 of the 12 constituencies in the erstwhile district, including Warangal East and West, Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Narsampet, Parkal, Dornakal, Mahabubabad, Palakurthy and Waradhanapet. The BRS could only win Jangaon and Station Ghanpur. In 2018, the Congress had won only Mulugu and Bhupalpally, but the Bhupalpally MLA switched allegiance to the BRS, only to be defeated this time.
In Khammam, a Congress bastion, the party maintained its dominance by securing nine of the 10 seats. The pattern witnessed in 2014 and 2018 continued this time too, with the BRS winning just one seat — Bhadrachalam. Interestingly, the margin of victory in all these seats was above 30,000.
Of the 54 seats in north Telangana, the BRS won 11, while the Congress emerged victorious in 34, with its ally CPI winning in one. The BJP won in seven segments, indicating a shift in the political landscape of the region.