Secretary TK Sridevi talking to a poll officer in Sangareddy district on Tuesday. | Photo credit: MOHD ARIF
Election staff in Sangareddy district on Tuesday. | Photo credit: MOHD ARIF
Hyderabad
As Telangana gears up for crucial municipal elections on Wednesday, the political stakes are high for all major parties, especially the ruling party, which is trying to impress 52,000 voters in urban areas.
While the Congress seeks to consolidate its grassroots influence, the BJP is trying to maintain the momentum it gained by winning eight Lok Sabha seats, and the BRS is trying to re-establish itself as the main opposition to the ruling party.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy took personal charge of the campaign and addressed a series of public meetings across the state shortly after returning from the United States. With the entire cabinet in place, he laid a clear responsibility on the ministers to ensure the victory of the Congress in their respective constituencies.
During the campaign, the Chief Minister consistently urged voters to support the ruling party for effective local governance, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and their respective parties would be “irrelevant” when it came to solving civic problems.
He also repeatedly tried to equate the BRS and the BJP, describing them as “Siamese twins” with no real difference in approach or intent. The Chief Minister also tried to highlight KCR’s absence from the election campaign as a sign that the party had given up on the BJP.
Regionally, the electoral contest is expected to be largely between the Congress and the BJP in North Telangana, while the Congress is confident of sweeping Khammam and Nalgonda districts. In South Telangana, the BRS is expected to give the Congress a tough fight, with the BJP’s influence largely confined to the Mahabubnagar area. Meanwhile, Medak district is considered a BRS stronghold.
In the campaign, some leaders also lost their cool and unacceptable profanity crept into their speeches. Leaders of all parties also got a little personal, crossing avoidable caste lines and shaming.
The BRS attack was led by working president KT Rama Rao and senior leader Harish Rao, while the BJP went ahead with its president Ramchander Rao and union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, the latter confined to Karimnagar district.
Published – 10 Feb 2026 20:36 IST