In a massive setback for the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, the Congress has clinched a massive victory in Telangana.
As per the Election Commission of India figures at the time of writing this piece, the Congress has won 63 seats and is leading in 3, whereas the BRS, which has been in power since 2014, secured just 37 seats while leading in 2.
What is interesting to note is how the Congress, led by its state president A Revanth Reddy, won several seats in the state, which were once considered the strongholds of the BRS.
As per an analysis by The Quint, out of the 49 seats that the BRS had consecutively won in both the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections, the party was able to retain only 19 seats this time. At least 27 of the seats were won by the Congress, whereas three seats were won by the BJP.
Most of the BRS candidates who lost the elections are two-time MLAs, who won in both 2014 and 2018.
Which are the seats that the Congress took away from the BJP and by what margin? We explain.
1. In Achampet, Congress candidate Chikkudu Vamshi Krishna beat two-time BRS MLA Guvvala Balraju by a margin of 49,326 votes.
2. Alair: Two-time BRS MLA Gongidi Sunitha lost to Congress candidate Ilaiah Beerla by a margin of 49,636 votes.
3. Andole: Congress' C Damodar Rajanarsimha beat BRS's Chanti Kranthi Kiran by a margin of 28,193 votes.
4. Bellampalle: BRS candidate Durgam Chinnaiah lost to Congress' Gaddam Vinod by 36,878 votes. Chinnaiah was a two-time MLA from the constituency.
5. Bhongir: Two-time MLA Pailla Shekar Reddy lost his seat at Bhongir to Congress's Kumbam Anil Kumar Reddy. While Anil Kumar polled 1,02,742 votes, Paila managed to secure only 76,541 votes.
6. Bodhan: Congress' P Sudarshan Reddy won this seat against BRS's Mohammed Shakil Aamir by a margin of 3,062 seats.
7. Chennur: Congress candidate Gaddam Vivekanand won in Chennur, defeats BRS's Balka Suman by 37,515 votes. BJP's Durgam Ashok lost by over 84,000 votes.
8. Choppandandi: Congress' Medipally Sathyam won this seat over BRS's Ravi Shankar Sunke by a huge margin of 37,439 seats.
9. Devarkadra: In Devarkadra, sitting BRS MLA Alla Venkateswar Reddy lost to Congress's Gavinolla Madhusudan Reddy by a small margin of 1,392 votes.
10. Dharmapuri: Congress candidate Adluri Laxman Kumar beat Telangana Minister for Scheduled Castes Development and Minority Koppula Eshwar by a margin of 22,039 votes.
11. Husnabad: Former Lok Sabha MP Ponnam Prabhakar beat two-time MLA Satish Kumar Voditela by over 19,344 votes.
12. Jadcherla: Congress candidate Anirudh Reddy Janampalli beat former health minister Charlakola Laxma Reddy 15,171 votes.
13. Jukkal: Here, Congress' Laxmi Kantha Rao Thota beat BRS's Hanmant Shinde by less than 1,200 votes.
14. Mahabubabad: BRS MLA Banoth Shankar Naik lost to Congress' Murali Naik Bhukya with a huge margin of 50,171 votes.
15. Mahbubnagar: Here, Congress' Yennam Srinivas Reddy beat Telangana minister and two-time MLA V Srinivas Goud by a margin of 18,738 votes.
16. Manakondur: Congress candidate Kavvampally Satyanarayana beat BRS's Erupula Balakishan Rasamayi by over 32,365 votes.
17. Mancherial: In this constituency, BRS MLA Diwakar Rao Nadipelli came third in the race after it lost to both the Congress and BJP candidates. Congress' Kokkirala Premsagar Rao beat Nadipelli by 67,956 votes.
18. Nizamabad (Rural): Two-time MLA Goverdhan Bajireddy lost to Congress candidate Bhoopathi Reddy Rekulapally by over 21,963 votes.
19. Peddapalle: Once again, two-time MLA Dasari Manohar Reddy lost to Congress' Chinthakunta Vijaya Ramana Rao by a huge margin of 55,108 votes.
20. Shadnagar: Congress' K Shankaraiah beat BRS MLA Anjaiah Yelganamoni by 7,128 votes.
21. Thungathurthi: BRS MLA Gadari Kishore lost to Congress candidate Mandula Samel by a margin of 51,094 votes.
22. Vemulawada: Here, BRS leader Lakshmi Narasimha Rao lost by a 14,581 votes.
23. Vicarabad: Congress candidate Gaddam Prasad Kumar won over BRS's Anand Methuku by a margin of 12,893 votes.
24. Warangal East: Congress candidate Konda Surekha beat BRS leader Errabelli Pradeep Kumar Rao by over 15,652 votes.
25. Warangal West: Two-time MLA Dasyam Vinay Bhaskher lost to Congress' Naini Rajender Reddy by over 15,000 votes.
26. Waradhanapet: Congress candidate KR Nagaraj K beat BRS MLA Aroori Ramesh by a margin of 19,458 votes.
Medak: A Region That Continues To Remain a BRS Bastion
The Medak region, which is the birthplace of incumbent Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and the Telangana statehood movement, continues to be a stronghold for the BRS.
The Medak Lok Sabha Constituency consists of Narsapur, Sangareddy, Patancheru, Dubbak, GajweI, Siddipet, and Medak assembly constituencies. In 2023, the BRS managed to retain all seven seats in this region.
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