Congress has also expressed support for the BC bandh on Saturday, called to demand 42% reservation for BCs.
Published Oct 18, 2025 | 1:17 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 18, 2025 | 1:17 PM
Synopsis: Congress plans 42% BC seat reservation for Telangana local body elections after the Supreme Court dismissed its plea to stay a High Court order halting the quota hike from 25% to 42%. Facing legal constraints, the party may proceed with elections under the existing 50% cap or reserve 42% seats, with a final decision expected on 23 October.
The Congress appears to be coming around to the view that its only viable option before it is to go ahead with local body elections by reserving 42% of the seats for Backward Classes (BCs) — as there is no guarantee that the High Court will permit the implementation of its order enhancing BC quotas.
Under the earlier system, BCs were allotted 25 percent of the seats, Scheduled Castes (SCs) 15 percent, and Scheduled Tribes (STs) 10 percent. Now, the Congress is reportedly considering topping the statutorily allowed 25 percent with additional 17 percent seats unofficially for them, taking the total to 42 percent.
The party and the government appear to have reached this conclusion after the Supreme Court dismissed their Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeking a stay on the Telangana High Court’s order halting the hike in BC reservations in local bodies from the existing 25 percent to 42 percent.
The other alternative before the government now is to continue fighting the case before the High Court. The Congress and the state leadership a insist that their decision to increase BC quotas was a progressive measure unfairly stalled by judicial interpretation.
Party leaders maintain that they are still committed to enhancing BC reservations and that there is “no going back” on the issue. This effectively means that if the High Court strikes down the GO — which is currently under stay — the government would be compelled to reserve seats according to the old pattern. Or the Congress might reserve 42 percent seats for the BCs, as it is committed to hiking the quota for them.
Interestingly, Congress has also expressed support for the BC bandh on Saturday, called to demand 42 percent reservation for BCs. While the move raised eyebrows — since it is unusual for a ruling party to support a protest — Congress leaders offered a laboured explanation that their support was intended to “awaken” BCs and reaffirm the party’s solidarity with them.
The gesture is being seen as a calculated attempt to retain BC support, amid fears that Opposition might seek to exploit the reservation issue and erode Congress’ backing among the community.
At the Cabinet meeting held on Thursday evening, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said a final decision will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting on 23 October, after legal experts examine the Supreme Court’s order and advise the government on its legal course.
According to sources, if there is any realistic chance of success in the High Court, the government may wait. Otherwise — which seems more likely — it will proceed with elections under the existing reservation framework or the Congress might reserve 42 percent seats for the BCs in the local body elections.
The controversy was triggered by the issue of Government Order (GO) No. 9, on 26 September, 2025, which increased BC reservations in local bodies from 25 percent to 42 percent. With SCs and STs retaining 15 percent and 10 percent respectively, the total quota reached 67 percent, breaching the 50 percent ceiling set by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney (1992) and K Krishna Murthy (2010) judgments.
On 9 October, the Telangana High Court issued an interim stay on the GO, stating that the State Election Commission (SEC) was to free to hold local body elections based on the earlier 50 percent cap.
The government’s SLP before the Supreme Court was dismissed by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which observed that the matter must be decided by the High Court on its merits and that the top court could not override Constitutional Bench rulings.
The bench also questioned the timing of the quota hike and noted that the apex court could not deviate from its long-standing stance on reservation ceilings. The dismissal of the SLP came as a blow to BC organisations, prompting them to announce a statewide bandh on 18 October demanding implementation of 42 percent BC quotas.
“The Congress Party and the government are sincerely committed to ensuring 42 percent reservations for BCs. Once the Supreme Court’s judgment copy is received, the issue will be examined and a decision taken in the Cabinet meeting on 23 October.”
For now, the focus has shifted back to the Telangana High Court, where petitions challenging the GO remain pending. The court has granted six weeks for hearings and directed the state to file a comprehensive counter-affidavit within four weeks.
TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud sounded optimistic about the outcome: “We will make watertight arguments in the High Court. We have six weeks, and we will fight it out,” he said.
The Congress now finds itself walking a tightrope — balancing its legal battles with political compulsions, striving to defend its pro-BC credentials while ensuring that the long-delayed local body elections finally take place under whichever reservation formula the courts allow.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
