Hyderabad: Over 84 per cent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana on Thursday, the State Election Commission (SEC) said.

Claiming a decisive victory, the ruling party’s state unit president B Mahesh Kumar Goud said Congress-backed candidates won more than 90 per cent of the seats reflecting people’s trust in the Congress government.

Of the 53,57,277 eligible voters, 45,15,141 cast their votes (84.28 per cent), an official release said.

The polling, held from 7 AM to 1 PM in 3,834 Gram Panchayats, concluded peacefully and the counting of votes began at 2 PM.

Amid elaborate security arrangements made by police, the polling was held peacefully, Additional DGP (Law and Order) Mahesh M Bhagwat told PTI.

Extensive security

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