HYDERABAD: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday met Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi in New Delhi and apprised her of the party’s victory in the municipal elections in Telangana. He returned to Hyderabad in the evening after his two-day visit to the national capital.Revanth termed the Congress victory as an overwhelming endorsement by urban voters of the party’s two years of welfare and development-oriented governance. He said the govt would focus on developing all the ULBs, with special emphasis on infrastructure development and providing civic amenities.Sources said the CM is expected to hold an online meeting late on Friday or on Saturday with ministers and key party leaders to discuss the strategy to be adopted for electing mayors, deputy mayors, chairpersons and their deputies in the municipal corporations and municipalities. Though the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Nizamabad and Karimnagar, it fell short of the magic figure. A similar situation prevailed for the Congress in the Mahabubnagar municipal corporation.As a result, Revanth’s meeting with ministers and senior leaders is expected to take crucial decisions on post-poll alliances with independents, AIMIM, among other parties. Meanwhile, addressing a media conference at Gandhi Bhavan after the municipal poll results were declared, deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka claimed that the Congress has decisively won 83 municipalities and five municipal corporations.He said that of the total 116 municipalities, the Congress is likely to secure between 90 and 94 municipalities overall. “Elections were conducted in seven municipal corporations, and the Congress achieved a majority in five corporations, while a hung situation emerged in the remaining two. The BJP, Congress, and independent candidates are present in those corporations, and the final numbers may increase once complete details are available,” he said.Stating that it was a matter of great satisfaction that the Congress had secured such a large number of municipal seats after nearly two decades, he said the results show that people have placed strong trust in development and welfare governance, and that the electorate is carefully observing political developments.“The people delivered an appropriate verdict in the local body elections after observing the daily criticism and fabricated narratives spread by BRS and BJP leaders against the state government and the Congress party,” he said. With the clear mandate given by urban voters, he said the responsibility of the Cong govt has increased further and assured that governance will be delivered with the highest standards. He said the results demonstrate the state govt’s commitment to the people.The deputy chief minister said the public has continuously endorsed the people’s government in successive elections, including the Parliament elections, Cantonment and Jubilee Hills bypolls, and later the panchayat elections, and advised opposition parties to take note of the mood among the electors in the state.Bhatti urged opposition parties to stop spreading false propaganda and fabricated stories to remain visible in the media and maintain political relevance. He said a healthy opposition should exist in the state, but it must act responsibly toward the people. He expressed gratitude to party leaders and workers who worked hard to achieve the victory.
