Congress tightens grip in Telangana, but tests lie ahead

The results of the 2026 Telangana municipal elections mark another milestone in the Congress’s steady political consolidation in Telangana. Before this, the party won the 2023 Assembly elections; secured eight seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which was as many as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); and won a majority of sarpanch positions in 2025. Together, these victories have strengthened the Congress’s organisational confidence and reinforced the public perception that the party is the new pole of stability in Telangana.

The municipal results have also served as an internal stabiliser for the leadership. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy appears to have firmly consolidated his position. Challengers and sceptics within the party seem to have resigned themselves to the reality that the Chief Minister is politically unshakeable, at least for the foreseeable future.

It is not uncommon, however, for a ruling party to perform well in local body elections. The advantages of incumbency, visibility of welfare schemes, administrative access, a favourable bureaucracy, and the perceived ability of ruling party MLAs to get work done often weigh heavily on voter psychology. This phenomenon was evident in 2020 as well, when the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) swept over 95% of municipal bodies and captured the Zilla Parishad chairperson’s post in all the districts.

However, a comparison between 2020 and 2026 also highlights why the present Congress victory carries deeper political meaning. Unlike the BRS’s sweep of 2020, the Congress secured just over 70% of municipal wards this time. Yet, this outcome is significant precisely because Congress faced two strong Opposition parties. The BRS still commanded a sizeable presence with 37 MLAs (including 10 defectors), while the BJP entered the contest with eight MLAs and eight MPs.

This stands in contrast to 2020, when the Congress was organisationally battered, reduced to just six MLAs, with 12 legislators defecting to the ruling BRS, and a mass migration of grassroots cadre. The BJP then had only one MLA, though it had four MPs. The Congress’s journey from that nadir to its current dominance shows the scale of its revival.

The Congress has emerged as the single largest party this time. Securing 39.80% of the vote share, it finished 11.05% points ahead of the BRS. This gap is striking when viewed against the backdrop of the 2023 Assembly elections, where the difference between the two parties was just 2%. The Congress had already widened this lead in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, polling 40.1% while the BRS secured just 16.7%, with much of its vote share shifting to the BJP.

The municipal polls reveal an interesting reversal. While the BRS recovered a significant portion of its lost vote share, largely at the expense of the BJP, the Congress not only retained its base but also expanded it further. The BJP, which had polled nearly 35% in the Lok Sabha elections, slipped to a surprising 15.68%, which is a huge setback, especially in urban areas where it is considered strong.

The scale of the Congress victory is evident in seat distribution too. Of the 2,996 wards across 123 urban local bodies, it secured 1,347, winning 99 out of the 123 municipalities and corporations that went to polls. The party emerged victorious in 68 of the 81 Assembly segments where municipal elections were held, despite major urban centres such as Hyderabad, Warangal, and Khammam being excluded from this round.

Mr. Reddy himself set the campaign narrative in the final days, while adopting a decentralised approach that gave ministers and MLAs autonomy but with accountability. He also deftly diverted attention from sensitive urban governance issues towards broader political themes.

Yet, the Congress cannot afford complacency. Nearly 38 municipalities delivered hung verdicts, underlining local dissatisfaction and factionalism. The BJP’s victory in Karimnagar Corporation and the BRS’s continued presence in several municipalities signal that urban Telangana remains politically competitive. Moreover, incumbency fatigue, governance delivery in urban areas, and internal party management will become bigger challenges as the Assembly elections approach. Transforming the present momentum into a second Assembly victory will depend on whether the Congress is able to address its weaknesses.