Synopsis : The Congress party claimed to have won a majority of the gram panchayats in the first phase of the local body elections in Telangana. The Congress’s flagship schemes, from free electricity to farmers and the crop loan waiver to the rollout of the six guarantees, appear to have struck a chord with rural voters.

The Congress party claimed to have won a majority of the gram panchayats in the first phase of the local body elections in Telangana held on Thursday, 11 December.

As the counting finally wound down in the early hours of Friday, 12 December, Congress-backed candidates appeared to have walked away with the lion’s share of sarpanch seats, leaving the Opposition gasping. The elections are not party-based.

Of the 3,984 sarpanch seats that went to direct contest, apart from

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