The State Election Commission of Telangana has begun preparations for the Panchayat elections. It has once again announced the schedule for revising the voters’ list in village panchayats. It has decided that voter list revisions will be carried out in villages from November 20 to 23.
● Special Drive.
November 20, Acceptance of voter applications, objections, and corrections. November 22 Resolution of voter applications and objections. November 23 Publication of the final voters’ list and polling stations.
● Sarpanch Elections in 3 Phases.
The government is planning to conduct the Sarpanch elections in three phases. Each phase is expected to have a gap of less than five days between polling dates. With this timeline, the panchayat election process is likely to conclude by the second week of December. The dedicated commission has already finalized two models of reservations for panchayat elections: one providing 42% reservation for BCs (Backward Classes), and another keeping the total reservations within 50%. The list with reservations capped at 50% is being reviewed once more before submitting a report to the government.
In reality, panchayat elections are not conducted on party symbols, political parties only extend support to candidates. In this context, the Congress party has announced that it will allocate 42% reservation to BCs in the seats where it supports candidates.
● Impact on Other Parties.
The Congress party’s decision regarding BC reservations is expected to influence all other political parties. Inevitably, other parties may be compelled to follow the same approach. During the Assembly discussions on BC reservations, all parties expressed unanimous support. If they fail to implement similar measures now, they risk alienating BC voters.
Currently, as per law, local bodies already have 22-23% reservations for BCs. The state government has made several attempts to legally increase this to 42%. However, the High Court issued a stay, and the Supreme Court subsequently directed compliance with the High Court’s decision.
Meanwhile, if governing bodies are not formed in the panchayats by next March, nearly ₹3,000 crore due from the Finance Commission may lapse. As a result, the government is proceeding with the panchayat elections using reservation limits capped at 50%.