HYDERABAD: The urban local body elections on Saturday clearly indicate that the political graph of BJP is on the ascent in Telangana with the saffron party winning nearly 240 municipal wards and divisions. The saffron party has improved its performance and tally not only in the municipalities and corporations in the state, but gained significantly in urban local bodies on the periphery of Greater Hyderabad.

BJP won three municipalities — Amangal, Tukkuguda and Makthal — and emerged as single largest party in Nizamabad municipal corporation and a couple of other local bodies.

Though BJP finished at third place behind

and Congress, which were first and second respectively, the results of the 2020 municipal polls is no mean achievement for BJP, which had managed to win just 167 wards and divisions in the 2014 ULB polls, that too after contesting the elections in alliance with TDP then. This time BJP went alone.

Even though BJP did not have candidates in 700-odd of the 3,052 wards that went to polls, the saffron party not only improved its tally, but has managed to get representation in over 60% of the total 129 municipalities and municipal corporations which went to the polls on January 22.

In the Meerpet municipal corporation, BJP emerged as the second largest party, winning 16 wards as against 19 by TRS and three by Congress. In the Badangpet corporation, the saffron party was runner-up with 10 seats against 13 by TRS and seven by Congress.

However, BJP leaders, including its state president K Laxman, who have been claiming that BJP has emerged as an alternative to the ruling TRS and is the main opposition party in Telangana, was no match to TRS. Also, BJP secured 50% less wards than the Congress.