Tough tests await BRS as local body polls line up in year ahead

Hyderabad: The year 2026 is set to be a challenging one for the main opposition BRS, as the party seeks to regain lost ground in Telangana with crucial local body elections , including municipal, MPTC and ZPTC polls, lined up during the year.

The year 2025 proved to be one of mixed outcomes for the BRS. From MLAs defecting and the loss in the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll to securing a significant number of posts in the sarpanch elections, the party witnessed an eventful year. The party also had to take disciplinary action against senior leader and family member Kalvakuntla Kavitha, sending out a message that all was not well within the party’s inner circle.

The BRS lost the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election to the Congress following the demise of MLA Maganti Gopinath. However, towards the end of the year, the party found some consolation by retaining a large number of sarpanch and ward member posts in the Gram Panchayat elections.

BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao had remarked that the outcome would have been different had there been a party symbol in the panchayat elections.

The party is now shifting its focus to the upcoming municipal elections slated for the end of January, followed by the MPTC and ZPTC elections.

Meanwhile, the BRS recently announced its New Year action plan. Along with strengthening its organisational structure, the party has decided to take on the Congress government over the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme.

As part of this strategy, the party plans to hold three major public meetings in Rangareddy, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts to highlight its contribution to the Palamuru region and to expose what it calls the government’s failure to complete the pending project.

Speaking at a calendar release function at Telangana Bhavan, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said that while continuing the struggle, building a strong organisational structure was equally important.

He expressed confidence that the party would move forward through both agitation and constructive work, and asserted that victory was inevitable as righteousness, justice and honesty were on their side.

KTR said that despite what he described as coordinated attacks on the BRS by both the Central and State governments, the party would remain strong as long as it enjoyed the blessings of the people and divine support.

He maintained that no matter how many conspiracies or intrigues were hatched, it would not be possible to suppress the BRS. Reiterating that the party’s ultimate goal was to see KCR return as Chief Minister in 2028, KTR called upon party workers to move forward with caution and confidence, without being disheartened by minor setbacks.