The Congress government, apparently, is yet to make up its mind on when it intends to hold the panchayat elections.
Published Jan 23, 2025 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 23, 2025 | 12:00 PM
The panchayat polls will be tough for the Congress since both BRS and BJP are planning to upset the ruling party's applecart.
The race for political dominance at the grassroots level in Telangana and the consequent delay in holding elections to local self-government bodies have left panchayats in the state devoid of essential funds.
Though the 15th Finance Commission has allocated ₹7,201 crore to Telangana, the 12,769 panchayats in the state are ineligible to use the funds because they are all under special officers’ rule since their terms ended on 2 February 2024.
Of the ₹7,201 crore, 60 percent is a tied grant, and the remaining 40 percent is untied. The Finance Commission’s grant of ₹1,514 crore comprises ₹605.6 untied (40 percent, basic) and ₹908.4 crore tied grant (60 percent) for Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) which include Gram Panchayats, Mandal Praja Parishads and Zilla Praja Parishads.
The lion’s share of the grants (85 percent) goes to gram panchayats. “As there are no elected bodies in place, the panchayats are not getting any central funds,” a source in the Panchayat Raj Department said.
The delay in holding panchayat elections has given rise to a doubt whether the ruling Congress is afraid of the outcome.
The Congress is monitoring the political scenario with BRS breathing down its neck and the BJP swinging in to make inroads into its vote bank ahead of the panchayat elections.
At the moment, it appears, the ruling dispensation is being impaled on the horns of the dilemma of going in for elections now or at a later date.
The party, which remains a prisoner of its indecision, is watching helplessly as the BRS and the BJP make progress.
The BRS is keen on making a big bang effect in the panchayat elections to reverse the narrative that it is slipping into the realms of oblivion.
It is planning major public meetings across Telangana to prove that it is making a comeback. Party working president KT Rama Rao said at a party meeting recently that the BRS is poised to make a major impact in the panchayat elections.
The party is recovering from the dent created by deserting MLAs and MLCs after the electoral reverses it had suffered in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Though late, the BJP is also set to announce its new president for the Telangana unit of the party who is expected to lead cadres in the elections.
The party has already been working silently on consolidating the gains it had made in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in North Telangana.
Both BRS and BJP hope to improve their performance in the local elections.
The Congress, apparently, is yet to make up its mind on when it intends to hold the panchayat elections.
The party has not decided on the reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee, the filling of nominated posts, and the expansion of the state Cabinet, all of which may have a bearing on its poll performance.
As the election to eight MLC seats is also drawing closer, the party seems to be a little suffocated with having to do too much in too little time.
AICC general secretary KC Venugopal in his recent visit to Hyderabad wondered why the party was delaying elections to local bodies and underscored the importance of the party becoming strong at the grassroots level.
“The chief minister is seized of the issue,” a Congress source said.
“He may call a special session of the Assembly later this month where he would move a resolution for 42 percent reservation to BCs (Backward Classes) and send it to the Centre. It is the promise made by the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections in 2023,” he added.
Indications are that the panchayat elections may be held in February-March, coinciding with the party’s preparations for the MLC elections.
There is one section of the party that believes that it is the right time now to hold the elections as the government is launching four major development schemes on Republic Day.
At the same time, Congress leaders fear a backlash from those who have been kept off the welfare schemes. This apart, several issues are dogging the panchayat elections — mostly of Congress making — including the finalisation of BC reservations.
A dedicated commission, constituted after the direction of the Telangana High Court to study the reservation issue, has recently submitted its report to the government.
The commission, headed by B Venkateswara Rao, was tasked to conduct an empirical data survey of BCs for fixing reservations in local bodies. It used the caste census data to arrive at the percentage of reservations to be provided to different castes designated as BCs.
The dedicated commission was set up by the state government on 4 November last year, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2010 order that the panel should be entrusted with the task of conducting the “triple test” for the orderly and transparent implementation of reservations for the BCs.
The three tests relate to making empirical inquiry into the nature of backwardness in local bodies, collecting quantifiable data on the backwardness of the OBCs, and ensuring that the reservation for BCs would not exceed the 50 percent cap on all reservations put together.
As there is a bar on reservations exceeding 50 percent, the government may not be able to implement a 42 percent quota as promised by Congress but there would be some increase.
In 2018, the then BRS government issued an ordinance, amending the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, declaring that the total reservations in Panchayat Raj elections will not exceed 50 percent. The original 2018 Panchayati Raj Act had reserved 34 percent of the total number of offices in Gram Panchayats for Backward Classes.
However, total reservations, after accounting for reservations provided to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), which are mandated by the constitution, had reached 56 percent, necessitating a reduction of the quota to 28 from 34 percent to comply with 50 percent cap order by the apex court.
After taking a final call on reservations, the government will have to go to the State Election Commission to initiate the process for the election.
The State Election Commission is also ready to conduct the elections as soon as it gets clearance from the state government. It is planning to conduct the elections in three phases.
The Congress has committed itself to providing 42 percent reservations to BCs and it cannot renege on the promise.
KTR has been incessantly reminding the Congress of its commitment, apparently to embarrass the leadership as it cannot breach the 50 percent ceiling on reservations by providing the promised 42 percent.
At the most, the party might be tempted to implement the promise of 42 percent reservation to BCs in the allotment of tickets to candidates in other local body elections like ZPTCs, MPTCS, municipalities, and corporations which would soon follow.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
