Hyderabad, April 4 The opposition BRS secured the chairperson positions in the Kyatanpally and Ibrahimpatnam municipalities in Telangana on Saturday.
In the Kyatanpally municipality in the Mancherial district, BRS leader G Sandhya Rani and CPI's M Sarita were elected as chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively, as Congress members did not participate in the election.
Sources said that the BRS and CPI councillors had been "camping" together for about 50 days, staying away from their families, ahead of the Saturday election, allegedly to avoid poaching by the ruling Congress.
The BRS and CPI jointly secured the chairperson and vice-chairperson positions.
Speaking to reporters, Sandhya Rani and Sarita said that their election reflected the people's will.
"Our efforts over so many days have finally paid off. We stayed away from our families and could not celebrate any festivals. It has been 51 days," said Sandhya Rani.
Sarita also alleged that their rivals caused them trouble, and vowed to work for the development of the municipality.
BRS candidate Tekula Sudarshan Reddy was elected as the chairperson of the Ibrahimpatnam municipality in the Ranga Reddy district, with Congress councillors boycotting the election.
Meanwhile, the election of the municipal chairperson in Khanapur in the Nirmal district was postponed following confusion and arguments over the party affiliation of some councillors.
Elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana were held on February 11.
However, elections to the chairperson and vice-chairperson positions in Kyatanpally, Ibrahimpatnam, and Khanapur (which resulted in hung verdicts) were postponed due to court cases and law and order issues.
Former BRS MLA Balka Suman was arrested on February 18 in connection with cases registered against him and others over an alleged stone-pelting incident on the convoy of Telangana Labour Minister G Vivek Venkatswamy when he was proceeding to attend the election of the Kyatanpally municipal chairperson. He was later released on bail.
The ruling Congress had secured mayoral positions in five municipal corporations and chairperson positions in 89 municipalities.