Telangana panchayat polls: Is BRS staging a quiet comeback?

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), formerly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which had played a major role in the movement to create the state in 2014 and formed its first government, found itself out of power in less than a decade. The Congress regrouped fast and emerged as a dominant force, wresting power in 2023. It has also proved to be dominant in the state’s panchayat-level electoral politics, as the ongoing elections have shown. It has dominated the two phases of polling that have taken place so far and is expected to continue to do the same in the third phase on Wednesday (December 17).

However, what surprised the observers was that Opposition parties such as the BRS and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) also succeeded in making a distinct mark amid the ruling party’s commanding performance by winning in the native panchayats of some of the leading ministers and MLAs of Telangana, including the panchayat raj minister.

Party loses in prominent ministers' home turf

In Eturunagaram panchayat in Mulugu district, the village of state Panchayat Raj Minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka), Kakulamarri Srilatha, supported by the BRS, won with a massive majority of 3,230 votes.

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Similarly, in Cheruvumadaram panchayat in Khammam district, which is the native of state Housing, Revenue and Information Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Amaragani Ellayya won with the backing of the BRS to get a majority of 343 votes.

Dramatic scenes were witnessed in Rangareddyguda panchayat in Mahbubnagar district, the village of Jadcherla Congress MLA Janampalli Anirudh Reddy, after Kakipati Revathi, the candidate supported by the BJP, won by just 31 votes. Reddy expressed his anguish and was on the verge of tears, saying he had spent his own money on development in his village, but the local villagers voted for the BJP-backed candidate despite promising to back the Congress when the MLA had campaigned.

In Somlathanda panchayat in Warangal district, the native village of Mahabubabad Congress MLA Murali Naik, an Independent candidate, Iklavath Sujatha, won against the Congress candidate by 27 votes. In Dhamagnapur panchayat in the Congress-occupied Devarakadra constituency in Mahbubnagar district, Enmagandla Pavani, supported by the BRS, won with a majority of 120 votes.

In CM Revanth Reddy's native village, Kondareddy Panchayat, former Maoist Mallipakula Venkataiah won the Sarpanch election unanimously.

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There are several more such instances. The ruling party faced disappointing outcomes in the den of some ministers and MLAs despite extensive campaigning. But yet, the Opposition, and more particularly the BRS, managed to shock the Congress in these polls despite the latter’s overall dominance.

BRS wins nearly 50 pc of Congress's seats

The BRS has won in 1,155 and 1,195 panchayats in the two phases held so far, as against the Congress’s 2,426 and 2,331, respectively. Polls were held in more than 8,500 panchayats in these phases. The BJP (454) and Left parties (111 in total) have lagged much behind, even than the Independents who won 872. Another 4,158 panchayats will go to polling in the third phase, and it will be seen how much challenge the BRS can throw at the Congress during that.

While in terms of numbers, the BRS won only around 50 per cent of the panchayat seats clinched by the Congress (2,350 against 4,756), those numbers will still boost the party and its supporters amid recent electoral disappointments (after losing power in the state in the 2023 elections, the party failed to open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls).

Is Reddy govt already facing anti-incumbency?

Does the victory of the BRS and other Opposition-backed candidates in constituencies of Congress ministers and MLAs, despite the Reddy government launching several welfare schemes and populist measures, suggest that the ruling party is facing an anti-incumbency mood, particularly against the representatives of the government, in just two years?

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After its journey started in December 2023, the Reddy government began schemes such as free bus travel for women; free electricity up to 200 units; Aarogyasri health coverage; farm-loan waivers and farmer-support transfers; and distribution of fine rice, among others.

Or is it that the beleaguered BRS is making a comeback?

One argument goes that in panchayat elections, larger issues such as state policies, corruption or governance are often dwarfed by localised issues such as local faces, relationships and dynamics.

Experts on BRS performance

Political scientist and analyst from the University of Hyderabad, Prof. E Venkatesu, said it is not surprising to see the ruling party winning more than 50 per cent seats in local polls, because being in power gives it a huge advantage.

At the same time, he said the frustration among the BC (Backward Classes) communities over the state government not fulfilling its promise of 42 per cent reservations for them could be one reason why people were voting for the BRS in some places.

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Kurapati Venkatanarayana, another analyst, said while local body election results generally favour the ruling party, the results in Telangana show the BRS still has strong foundations in rural areas.

Senior journalist Chalasani Narendra said it would be risky for the Congress to assume it will win the future elections just because it performed well in local polls, since, according to him, the BRS winning about 25 per cent of the panchayats despite being in the Opposition is not something the ruling party can easily ignore.

He said that while the Congress has a strong foundation in the rural areas and the party workers made a hard effort since it was a test of the first-time CM’s personal image, the BRS has still done well despite lacking a robust party structure in the rural parts of the state.

(This story was first published in The Federal Telangana)