Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy has consolidated his position within the Congress and the state government after the party dominated the urban local body elections, winning a majority of municipalities and corporations in results declared Friday night.
The Congress secured 67 of 116 municipalities and four of seven corporations that went to polls on 11 February, with hung verdicts in over 35 municipalities and three corporations.
The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which ruled Telangana for two terms, was reduced to 13 municipalities and did not win any corporation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to win any municipality outright but is in a position to gain control of Karimnagar corporation where it won the highest number of ward segments.
At the ward and division level, the Congress won 1,537 of 2,996 wards—just over 51 percent but a dramatic surge from 569 wards in the 2020 polls. The BRS secured 780 wards, the BJP 335, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) 70.
The victory, coming two months after Congress-backed candidates won 60 percent of rural bodies in the December 2025 panchayat polls, reinforces Revanth’s authority as he approaches two and a half years in office. Consecutive by-poll wins in Secunderabad Cantonment (2024) and Jubilee Hills (2025) have further deflated speculation about leadership change.
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10.5-year ambition
Revanth signalled his confidence a day before the results, declaring in Telugu at his Tughlaq Road residence in New Delhi Thursday: “Nene raju, nene mantri (I am the king, am the minister).”
The phrase—meaning “I am the absolute authority” and borrowed from a 2017 Telugu political drama starring Rana Daggubati—was delivered during a conversation with reporters in which he emphasised he was “not in competition with anyone”.
The chief minister, who had met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi earlier that day, said he would remain in office for 10.5 years, surpassing former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s 9.5-year tenure. His calculation is apparently based on Telangana going to polls in “Jamili (One Nation, One Election) mode” in mid-2029, which could keep him in the chief minister’s seat for six additional months beyond the assembly election due in late 2028.
The assembly polls were last held in November 2023.
Corporation results
The Congress won four corporations—Mahbubnagar, Mancherial, Nalgonda, and Ramagundam, while it could bag Kothagudem in alliance with CPI and Nizamabad along with AIMIM.
Elections were not held in Hyderabad, where the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) term ended earlier this month.
Revanth appointed a special officer to manage the municipal body, one of the country’s largest, which has now been divided into three parts. Local polls in the capital region are expected later this year.
Results, known Friday night, were based on ballot paper voting. A majority of the 30 odd hung municipalities are expected to align with the ruling party, with help of ex-officio votes (of MLAs etc) in some bodies.
Despite winning half of Telangana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, the BJP failed to secure any municipality and managed only around 10 percent of total urban body wards. But the party won the highest number of segments in both Karimnagar and Nizamabad corporations, represented by its MPs Bandi Sanjay and D. Aravind respectively in the Lok Sabha.
BJP’s performance was largely lacklustre in the other six Lok Sabha and seven assembly segments that it represents across the state.
‘Public endorsement’ of govt
On Friday, as the results were coming in, Revanth met Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, who congratulated him on the party’s performance. The Chief Minister told her the results proved Telangana voters were content with his government’s welfare schemes and development programmes.
In a post on X, Revanth described the results as “public endorsement of his two years of praja-paalana (people-centric rule)”.
The Telangana local body polls win is a clear endorsement of Congress govt's people-first policies rooted in social justice, dignity, and inclusive growth.
Heartfelt thanks to every Congress karyakarta and leader. This victory belongs to you and to the people of Telangana.
Our…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 14, 2026
BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao countered the Congress narrative, claiming the verdict “reflects the growing confidence of people in BRS and signals strong public dissatisfaction with the ruling Congress government”.
“Despite intense pressure, misuse of money power, administrative machinery, and intimidation tactics by the ruling party, BRS could secure significant victories and emerged as the principal political force in urban local bodies,” the former minister told reporters.
KTR compared the results with the 2020 municipal elections, when BRS candidates won 122 mayoral and chairperson posts out of 130.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
“Seems like the election commission is playing footsies with Congress” – I hope Rahul gandhi say something along those lines.