Telangana Panchayat Elections: 86.4% Sarpanches from SC, ST and BC Communities, Youth and Women Shine
Hyderabad | December 24, 2025 | www.deccanlive.com
The Telangana State Election Commission has announced that 86.4 percent of elected sarpanches in the recent gram panchayat elections belong to SC, ST, and BC communities, while only 13.6 percent are from the general category.
Out of 12,702 elected sarpanches, the breakup is as follows:
- BCs: 4,946 (38.9%)
- STs: 3,726 (29.3%)
- SCs: 2,308 (18.2%)
- General category: 1,722 (13.6%)
The Commission said that youth candidates won the highest number of seats, showing strong participation of young leaders in village-level governance.
Women also made a strong mark in the elections. While 49.7 percent of sarpanches are women, they won 166 seats more than the number reserved for them, reflecting growing confidence in women leadership. Men account for 50.3 percent of the winners.
Election Overview
Telangana has 12,728 gram panchayats, of which elections were held in 11,497 panchayats.
- 1,205 panchayats were elected unopposed
- 21 panchayats received no nominations
- 5 elections were stayed by courts
The overall voter turnout was 85.30 percent, and no re-polling was required anywhere in the state.
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district recorded the highest turnout at 92.33 percent, while Nalgonda district recorded the highest number of votes polled, with over 9.02 lakh votes.
The average winning margin across the state was 112 votes. In 288 panchayats, candidates won by a margin of fewer than 5 votes, and in over 4,500 panchayats, the margin was below 100 votes. Officials noted that invalid votes averaged 22 percent, which affected results in several places.
Age and Background of Winners
The average age of elected sarpanches is 41.5 years.
- Youngest sarpanch: 21 years
- Oldest sarpanch: 95 years
Age-wise distribution:
- 18–29 years: Over 1,100
- 30–39 years: 4,305
- 40–49 years: 3,764
- 50–59 years: Over 1,700
- Above 60 years: Over 600
Among the winners, 1,441 are homemakers, followed by 270 businesspersons, 60 private employees, 30 professionals, 20 retired employees, and 10 students. Others belong to various occupations.
Expense Reports Ordered
The State Election Commission has directed officials to prepare and submit expenditure reports of all candidates who contested sarpanch and ward member elections. The reports must be submitted to the respective Mandal and district panchayat offices without delay.
