Hyderabad, Dec 11 : Candidates backed by the ruling Congress party won a majority of seats in the first phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana as the counting was underway on Thursday.

Though the elections were fought on a non-party basis but the results show that the majority of the candidates backed by the Congress party have emerged victorious in the majority of Gram Panchayats.

The ruling party-backed candidates won 1,924 Sarpanch posts, while the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was in second position by bagging 975 Sarpanch posts. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was distant third with 156 posts. Others were elected in 428 Gram Panchayats.

Reacting to poll results, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud said they reflect peopleâ??s confidence in the Congress government.

The polling was held earlier in the day for 3,834 Sarpanch posts, and the counting was taken up from 2 p.m.

Results in 3,478 Gram Panchayats were declared by 10 p.m.

According to the Station Election Commission, 84.28 per cent polling was recorded. Polling began at 7 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. for 3,834 Sarpanch posts and 27,628 Ward Member posts.

A total of 12,960 candidates were in the fray for the Sarpanch posts, while 65,455 candidates competed for the Ward Member posts.

More than 56 lakh voters were eligible to cast their votes at 37,562 polling centres spread across 189 mandals.

The poll notification was issued for 4,326 Sarpanch posts and 37,440 Ward Member posts. No nomination was filed for 5 Sarpanch posts and 169 Ward Member posts.

Sarpanches for 396 Gram Panchayats and 9,633 Ward Members were elected unanimously.

Courts have granted a stay for elections to one Gram Panchayat and 10 Ward Members.

A total of 56,19,430 electorate, comprising 27,41,070 males and 28,78,159 females, were eligible to cast their votes in the first phase. According to the SEC, 45,15,141 voters exercised their franchise.

Over one lakh polling staff were on duty. In 3,461 Gram Panchayats, direct webcasting has been arranged to ensure real-time monitoring of the polling process.

More than 50,000 police personnel were deployed to ensure peaceful polling.

As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17 for 12,728 Sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 Ward Member posts.

A total of 1.66 crore votes in rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.

The Telangana Cabinet last month decided to conduct only Gram Panchayat elections in December as the Rs 3,000 crore grant, which should come from the Centre, will lapse by March 31, 2026.

Elections for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and municipal corporations will be held after the High Court's final orders on 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).

In October, the High Court struck down a government order providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies but allowed conduct of the elections with a 50 per cent cap on total reservation for all sections.

The SEC has provided 17.08 per cent reservation in Gram Panchayats for BCs. Out of the total 12,735 Gram Panchayats, 2,176 have been reserved for BCs.

/IANS