Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Apr 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured the chairpersonship of Khanapur municipality in Nirmal district with backing from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

The municipal chairperson election was held on Sunday under tight security. BJP candidate Ankham Mounika was elected as chairperson following an agreement between the BJP and BRS, which also saw BRS candidate Mohammad Shoaib chosen as vice-chairperson.

The election followed a fractured verdict in the urban local body polls held in February. In the 12-member municipal council, both BJP and BRS won four seats each, while the Congress Party secured three, and one independent councillor was elected. With ex-officio support, Congress’ strength rose to six, while BJP gained the chairpersonship with the support of three BRS councillors.

Reacting to the BJP-BRS alliance, Congress MLA Vedma Bhojju accused the two parties of coercion, terming it “love jihad.” BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao claimed victory despite alleged undemocratic tactics by Congress, posting on X that “our dedicated karyakartas stood firm and the lotus bloomed with pride.”

Khanapur is the second municipality in Telangana where BJP has captured power. Meanwhile, BRS won the chairperson and vice-chairperson posts in Ibrahimpatnam and Kyathanpally municipalities, with the BRS-CPI alliance controlling Kyathanpalli in Mancherial district.

In the February elections, the ruling Congress party had secured more than 90 out of 115 municipalities and six of the seven municipal corporations in the state.