Telangana's rural areas showed a clear shift towards ruling Congress in the first phase of Gram Panchayat elections. This dealt a blow to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had controlled many districts for nearly a decade. Congress surged ahead in Khammam, Gadwal, Nalgonda, and Medak. Even in BRS strong areas like Karimnagar, Nizamabad, and Warangal, Congress performed strongly. In Sircilla, the home turf of BRS leader K. T. Rama Rao, Congress won 39 out of 85 Panchayats, while BRS won 21. Congress won seats across many districts including Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Mancherial, Asifabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Yadadri, Suryapet, Nagarkurnool, and more. Former BRS strongholds saw their hold weaken. In Jagityal, Adilabad, Mahabubnagar, and Wanaparthy, the contest was close between Congress and BRS. BRS maintained power only in Siddipet, the stronghold of ex-minister T. Harish Rao. Out of 163 Panchayats voted, BRS-backed candidates won 73 and Congress 64. BJP made little impact except some areas in Karimnagar under Union Minister Bandi Sanjay, and performed poorly in other BJP-held parliamentary seats. This first phase result shows a big change in Telangana’s rural politics. With Congress leading most districts, the second phase elections promise to be intense.