The upcoming panchayat elections are widely seen as a significant indicator of rural sentiment ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
Published Nov 27, 2025 | 7:00 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 27, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Representational image. Credit: x.com/SpokespersonECI
Synopsis: Telangana’s delayed Gram Panchayat elections for 12,728 panchayats will kick off in two weeks. Congress will bank on its pilot welfare schemes, BRS looks to attack broken BC quota promise, and BJP plans to endorse Central schemes. All three parties are aggressively backing their candidates in a key rural litmus test ahead of 2028 Telangana Assembly elections.
With just two weeks to go for the first phase of Telangana’s long-pending Gram Panchayat elections, political activity has intensified across rural Telangana.
The three major parties—ruling Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—are rolling out accelerated campaigns as the State Election Commission (SEC) moves ahead with the three-phase schedule. Though the elections are not party based, the parties, as is the practice, are getting ready to back candidates of their choice in the fray.
The SEC on 25 November announced that elections for 12,728 gram panchayats and more than 1.12 lakh wards will be conducted on 11, 14 and 17 December, marking the first major electoral exercise since the 2023 Assembly polls. More than 1.6 crore rural voters are expected to take part.
The elections were delayed by nearly 22 months, primarily due to administrative and legal hurdles, after special officers took charge of panchayats from 1 February, 2024. The previous gram panchayat elections were held in January 2019 during the tenure of the then BRS government.
The State Cabinet on 18 November approved the conduct of polls using the existing reservation structure, which caps reservations at 50 percent in line with Supreme Court directions.
Congress had earlier promised 42 percent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) during the 2023 campaign, but the legal cap prevents any increase in the overall quota. Meanwhile, the Opposition have seized on this divergence between promise and policy to attack the government.
The SEC finalised the reservation matrix for sarpanch posts at: BCs – 17 percent, SCs – 15 percent and STs – 10 percent. These numbers vary by district depending on population ratios. Congress has said that since 42 percent reservation for BC was not possible in this election, it would compensate by backing BC candidates so that 42 percent of the seats would go to the BCs.
Fresh from its victory in the Jubilee Hills by-election on 14 November, Congress is viewing the panchayat polls as a significant test of governance one year into its tenure. Ministers and MLAs have been holding village-level meetings, reviewing local issues, and shortlisting candidates based on internal surveys.
The grand old party is also building its campaign on its marquee welfare schemes announced since December 2023, including free bus travel for women and enhanced health access. Congress leaders say their rural outreach is aimed at reinforcing trust in the administration at a time when issues such as panchayat finances, sanitation, and road works are prominent concerns.
BRS, which lost power in 2023 after a decade-long rule, is running a high-pitch campaign centred on the Congress’s inability to raise BC reservations and what it calls “unmet promises” on welfare and public infrastructure.
Working President KT Rama Rao has repeatedly criticised tCongress for “backtracking” on BC quotas and has said the issue will be taken up nationally. The party has begun district-wise organisational reviews and set up teams to coordinate with booth-level workers. BRS functionaries say their focus will be on constituencies where the party still retains strong local networks, including areas dominated by farmers and self-help groups.
BJP, which increased its strength to eight seats in the 2023 Assembly elections, has announced that it will contest all gram panchayat seats without alliances. State BJP president N Ramachander Rao has said the party intends to expand its rural footprint by highlighting Central schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, PMGSY, and Jal Jeevan Mission.
In Karimnagar, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar posted on X that he would allocate Rs 10 lakh per village from MP funds if voters elect BJP-supported candidates. The statement drew criticism from rivals, who questioned the propriety of linking development funds to electoral outcomes, but BJP leaders defended it as a commitment to “transparent and accountable” village development.
The upcoming panchayat elections are widely seen as a significant indicator of rural sentiment ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
For Congress, these polls are an opportunity to demonstrate progress in decentralised governance. For BRS, they represent a chance to reclaim grassroots relevance. BJP, meanwhile, is aiming to reinforce its image as a growing third force in the state’s political landscape.
Campaigning is expected to intensify over the coming days as parties begin the exericse of who to back in the elections, village-level outreach, and mobilisation of booth-level units. Counting of votes will take place shortly after the final phase on 17 December, as per SEC guidelines.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
