After electoral surge, BJP faces reality check in Telangana municipal elections

The BJP has posted reasonably good results in Telangana’s municipal corporations, but only when compared with the 2020 polls. That benchmark now means little, as the political landscape has shifted after an Assembly and a Parliamentary election in which the party showed strong momentum, much of which seems to have dissipated.

Given the surge the BJP registered in the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, its municipal results are underwhelming. With eight MPs and eight MLAs in the state, power at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the face of its campaign and a raft of central schemes to showcase, the party was expected to do far better.

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The BJP salvaged some face in the corporation polls, gaining the upper hand in two of the seven municipal corporations, Karimnagar and Nizamabad, and boosting its chances of capturing them. Notably, the main opposition BRS failed to win any of the seven corporation, giving the BJP some comfort. But its weak showing in municipal councils overall leaves the party unsure whether to celebrate or worry.

Numbers favour BJP in Karimnagar

In the key Karimnagar Municipal Corporation in north Telangana, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, boosting its chances of taking the mayor’s post. The contest carried added significance as Union MoS for Home Bandi Sanjay represents the parliamentary seat and campaigned aggressively to secure the corporation. The party improved sharply from 13 seats last time to 30 now, though short of the 34 needed in the 66-member house.

Post-results realignments, however, tilted the numbers in its favour. Five BJP rebels who won as independents signalled support, while Independent corporator Tella Lakshmi and AIFB’s Vipala Sai Jyoti formally joined the party in the presence of Sanjay and other leaders. Two rebel corporators and another Independent followed soon after, taking the BJP’s strength to 35.

The Karimnagar corporation has 66 elected corporators, and with local MLAs Gangula Kamalakar (BRS), Kavvampalli Satyanarayana (Congress) and MP Bandi Sanjay (BJP) as ex-officio members, the effective strength rises to 69, setting the majority mark at 35, a number the BJP says it has now reached. Party sources add that BJP MLCs Anjireddy and Malka Komaraiah could also be counted as ex-officio members if needed, though support from Independents and smaller-party corporators is expected to suffice.

In the results, Congress won 14 divisions, while once-dominant BRS was reduced to eight and AIMIM to three. BJP leaders say they are confident of securing the numbers for the mayor’s post by February 16.

Post-poll battle in Nizamabad

In Nizamabad too, the BJP appears positioned to secure the mayor’s post. In the 60-seat corporation, BJP won 28 seats to become the single largest party. Had it won three more, the mayor’s post would have come easily.

This is something the party must seriously reflect upon because BJP MP Arvind represents this parliamentary seat, yet the party failed to secure a clear majority.

Here, BRS performed poorly. Congress won 17 seats and AIMIM 14, together 31, meaning that if anything goes wrong, the corporation could go to the Congress-AIMIM alliance. However, ex-officio members may support the BJP. State BJP president N Ramchander Rao said the party would submit to the commissioner a combined list of winners along with ex-officio MPs and MLAs.

Performance in other municipalities

Except in Mahabubnagar, the BJP outpolled the main opposition BRS in the other six corporations, winning 69 of 354 divisions to BRS’s 48. Yet, measured against its strength in Parliament and the Assembly, the showing remains modest. Despite having eight MPs and as many MLAs, the party’s municipal gains were not enough to secure chairperson posts, even in constituencies represented by its own leaders.

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In the undivided Adilabad district, despite three BJP MLAs, their influence barely reflected in the municipal results. In south Telangana, the party was reduced to single-digit tallies in several towns, and in 43 municipalities it failed to open its account, including across the undivided Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda regions. The only consolation is growth: from 239 wards in 2020 to about 350 now, with vote share rising from 13% to over 20%.

Limited gains despite BJP MLAs

Among municipalities represented by BJP MLAs, only Adilabad offered some relief, where Deputy leader and MLA Payal Shankar helped the party win 21 of 49 wards, keeping the mayoral contest open.

In Kamareddy MLA K Venkataramana Reddy’s home turf, the party won 18 of 49 wards, a result largely credited to his personal clout after his high-profile Assembly victory over KCR and Revanth Reddy. In Nirmal, represented by Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy, the BJP managed just 13 of 42 wards despite earlier panchayat dominance.

Elsewhere, the picture was weaker: only 8 of 36 wards in Armur under MLA Paidi Rakesh Reddy; no firm control in communally sensitive Bhainsa in Ramarao Pawar’s segment; five seats in Sirpur under Palvai Harish; and a merely satisfactory showing in Nizamabad, represented by Surya Narayana Gupta.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Telangana.)