Telangana Municipal Election Results 2026 Live Updates: Highlights

Counting of votes in the second ordinary elections to 116 municipalities & seven municipal corporations to be taken up in the state on Friday

• Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS will be in force in and around counting centres

• Webcasting arrangements made in all the counting centres and outside strong rooms in all the districts

• Only counting supervisors, counting assistants, candidates and their election agents, and counting agents will be allowed inside the counting hall

Police registered a criminal case on Thursday against Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind and a few others for allegedly intimidating police personnel and election staff at a polling station during the municipal elections.

The MP was booked under Sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty) and 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Telangana Municipalities Act.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 3 pm when Arvind, accompanied by his associates, arrived at Haricharan Marwadi School, where polling was in progress. Alleging that a contesting candidate had been asked to leave the polling booth, the MP entered the premises and allegedly interfered with the functioning of the polling staff.

He is also alleged to have behaved in a high-handed manner and used objectionable language against police personnel on duty. Based on a complaint lodged by poll officials, the police registered a case and initiated further action.

• Ballot papers of poll stations are bundled in sets of 25

• If the leftover ballots are fewer than 25, they are made into a separate bundle and labelled with the count

• Details will be recorded, and the bundles of all poll stations of ward will be placed in a drum and thoroughly mixed

• Wooden trays with compartments are used for each contesting candidate, NOTA, and doubtful votes

• Ballots are examined one by one for validity, and each ballot is shown to counting agents, and valid votes are placed candidate-wise

• Valid votes for each candidate are bundled in 100s

• In each round, 1,000 ballots (40 bundles × 25 ballots) are randomly taken from the drum and sent to each counting table

• Doubtful votes and NOTA votes are also bundled in 100s

• Remaining votes (fewer than 100) are bundled separately with a slip noting the count

• Candidate-wise totals and doubtful votes are recorded in the counting sheet and signed by the counting supervisor

• Same process continues until all ballots of the ward are counted and all doubtful votes (ward-wise, table-wise) are decided by returning officer

• Round-wise candidate votes and rejected votes are entered in the final result sheet

• Results will be declared and certificates will be issued after completion of counting and due verification

Both BRS and BJP have arranged buses to move their candidates, assuming they will win, to camps in other states on Thursday night, instructing them to switch off mobile phones until counting concludes. Suryapet MLA and ex-minister G Jagadish Reddy shifted about 48 BRS nominees to camps to prevent other parties from luring them. Similarly, BRS candidates from Bhongir and Chandur in Nalgonda and Yadadri districts were shifted on Wednesday night. In Adilabad, BJP leader Payal Shankar and BRS ex-minister Jogu Ramanna suspected the ruling Congress might poach their would-be corporators/councillors and made arrangements to shift them on Thursday afternoon.

Nirmal MLA and BJP floor leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy also reportedly shifted Nirmal BJP municipal nominees to undisclosed locations. Candidates in Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mancherial municipal corporations, and other municipalities where no party is likely to get a clear majority were similarly moved. With exit polls predicting uncertain outcomes, parties are taking all possible measures to prevent attempts to lure winning candidates away.

BJP leader and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy hoped that the saffron party would get impressive results despite the alleged misuse of power and distribution of money by the Congress. The BJP has accused the ruling party of attempting to influence voters, yet remains optimistic about its prospects. The party has positioned itself as a strong alternative in urban constituencies and believes that its campaign efforts will yield favorable results despite the political challenges.

The counting of votes in the elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana, which is being seen as a crucial test of popularity for the ruling Congress as well as the opposition BJP and BRS, will be taken up on February 13. The State Election Commission announced that the counting would be conducted at 123 centres across the state beginning at 8 AM. The large number of counting centres reflects the scale of the urban local body elections and the extensive administrative arrangements put in place to handle the process smoothly across multiple districts.