Hyderabad, Feb 9 (NationPress) The campaigning phase for the municipal elections in Telangana concluded on Monday.

Voting for seven municipal corporations and 116 municipalities is scheduled for Wednesday, February 11.

In total, 12,930 candidates are contesting for 2,996 wards across 123 urban local bodies.

Approximately 52.43 lakh voters are eligible to participate in the municipal elections, consisting of 25.62 lakh men, 26.80 lakh women, and 640 others.

The State Election Commission has established 8,203 polling centers and arranged for 16,031 ballot boxes.

Additionally, the state electoral body will set up 137 strong rooms and 136 counting centers.

If necessary, re-polling will take place on February 12, with vote counting scheduled for February 13.

This municipal election features a fierce three-way contest among the ruling Congress, opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The campaign included intense attacks from leaders of all three major parties. The ruling Congress party is seeking public support to maintain the welfare initiatives it has implemented over the past two years.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who spearheaded the Congress campaign, accused BRS and BJP of conspiring to undermine the Congress party.

He also launched a pointed critique of the BJP for allegedly protecting BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), his son K. T. Rama Rao (KTR), and others involved in the alleged irregularities surrounding the Kaleshwaram project and Formula E car race.

Leaders from the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), including state ministers, MPs, and MLAs, actively supported party candidates during the campaigning.

The BRS campaign was led by KTR and senior leader T. Harish Rao, who took aim at the Congress government for its alleged unfulfilled promises and corruption.

BRS leaders heavily criticized Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for his supposed derogatory comments about KCR, claiming he was attempting to distract the public from his own alleged corruption by using the SIT to interrogate BRS leaders regarding the supposed phone-tapping incident during BRS governance.

State BJP president Ramchander Rao and Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar led the party's campaign efforts.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin addressed a public meeting in Mahabubnagar, while Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis participated in a rally in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district. Both leaders accused the Congress government of engaging in appeasement politics.

BJP leaders referred to Congress and BRS as two sides of the same coin, urging voters to give their party a chance.

In its manifesto, the BJP pledged that there would be no increase in taxes, including house tax, if they are elected to power in municipalities and municipal corporations.

The Jana Sena Party, part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has also nominated 336 candidates independently without forming an alliance with BJP.

Initially, Jana Sena announced that its leader and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan would campaign for both Jana Sena and BJP candidates for two days. However, his visit was canceled, and no explanation has been provided regarding this cancellation.

Both Congress and BRS leaders criticized the actor-politician's campaigning intentions, referencing his remarks from December regarding the scenic Konaseema region of Andhra, which they claim contributed to the bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

They alleged that his comments were disrespectful towards Telangana, although the Jana Sena leader contended that his statements were misinterpreted.