Backward Classes quota: Telangana may go ahead with local body polls with existing system

Hyderabad, Oct 12 (IANS) The Congress government in Telangana is likely to go ahead with local body polls with the existing 50 per cent cap on overall reservation, as the interim stay granted by the Telangana High Court on 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes has paused the poll process.

The High Court on October 9 stayed the implementation of the Government Order (GO), providing 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).

As the High Court has left the door open for conducting local body polls with the existing 50 per cent cap on overall reservation, the government may explore the option to hold the long-pending rural body polls.

The GO had taken the total reservation to 67 per cent, exceeding the 50 per cent limit prescribed by the Supreme Court.

As the larger issue of increasing reservation for BCs may take a long time for legal redressal, indications are that the government may go ahead with the polls with the existing 50 per cent cap, including 27 per cent for BCs.

Holding the local body polls is crucial for the Congress government, as a lack of Central funds to local bodies due to the delay in holding polls threatens to derail governance in rural areas.

After two days of hearing, the High Court stayed the implementation of the GO till further orders and also directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to pause the process for local body elections.

The SEC, which had already issued the notification for rural local body polls in five phases, suspended the same after a court order.

The High Court will resume hearing in the case only towards the end of November, as it has given four weeks for the state government and SEC to file their counters. The petitioners have been given two weeks thereafter to submit their replies.

The state government has an option to approach the Supreme Court, but it is not likely to challenge the stay granted by the High Court, as this might further delay local body polls.

While adhering to the existing quota, the Congress party may provide 42 per cent tickets to BCs to send across its message that it remains committed to fulfilling its poll promise.

The state cabinet is likely to discuss the issue on October 16 and take a decision on conducting polls with the existing reservation cap.

The GO was issued on September 26 to pave the way for the conduct of local body elections.

It was on June 25 that the Telangana High Court directed the state government to conduct local body elections in three months. The High Court had set a September 30 deadline for conducting the polls.

The state government issued the GO as the two Bills passed by the Assembly on August 31 were still awaiting the Governor’s approval.

Telangana Municipalities (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025 and Telangana Panchayat Raj (Third Amendment) Bill, 2025, were passed to enhance BC reservation in local bodies to 42 per cent by removing the 50 per cent cap on the quota for all categories.

The issue of BC reservation has been dominating the Telangana politics for several months ever since the government decided to enhance the BC quota in education, jobs and local bodies, based on the report of the caste survey. This was one of the key promises made by the Congress party in the 2023 Assembly elections.

The government also constituted the dedicated BC Commission, which analysed the empirical data of the caste survey. It was observed that the BCs continue to remain relatively behind compared to their population of 56.33 per cent in the state, and recommended that at least 42 per cent reservation be provided in political representations, particularly in local bodies.

In March, the Assembly had passed two Bills to enhance BC reservations to 42 per cent in education, employment and local bodies.

As this would breach the 50 per cent cap on overall reservations, the Governor forwarded the Bills for the President of India’s approval, but so far, she has not given her approval.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy led a protest by ministers, MPs and state legislators in Delhi to demand that the Centre give the nod for the two Bills.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest has erupted in the state following the High Court stay on GO and the suspension of poll notification.

While opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have slammed the Congress government for its ‘negligence’ and failure to defend its own GO, the ruling party has blamed them for the deadlock.

State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao held the government responsible for the stay. He alleged that Congress jeopardised the rights of BCs for political gain and demanded that the government approach the Supreme Court.

“BCs are paying the price for the Congress government’s negligence,” he said and questioned the government’s ‘haste’ in issuing the GO before the constitutionally mandated three-month window for the Governor to act on the Assembly-passed bills.

“There was no application of mind, and the guidelines of the Supreme Court were also ignored. This shows Congress is not committed to the BC reservation,” he said.

He also alleged that the petitions opposing the 42 per cent reservation were filed by individuals affiliated with Congress, but the party is spreading misinformation that the BJP is obstructing the process.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay said Congress tried to cheat BCs by adding Muslims into their quota to fake “BC empowerment”.

He alleged that ever since coming to power, Congress has only manipulated Telangana's emotions and the Backward communities. “The government failed to defend its own order. There was no data, no defence. Only deception. For Congress, Telangana and BCs are votes to use, not voices to respect,” he remarked.

The BC groups have also called for a Telangana bandh on October 14 to protest against what they called the government’s negligence over the issue of reservation.

The Backward Classes Association leader, BJP Rajya Sabha MP R. Krishnaiah, appealed to political parties and caste groups to support the bandh. He also sought the BJP’s support for the bandh.

BRS has also accused the Congress of enacting political drama over the BC reservation to hoodwink BCs. “Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has betrayed the BCs through a GO that could not withstand legal scrutiny,” said BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao.

He alleged that Congress used the BC reservation as a tool to delay local body elections, as it feared defeat due to strong anti-incumbency among people.

The BRS leader also targeted the BJP, saying it stabbed BCs in the back by keeping bills related to BC reservation pending.

The ruling party countered the opposition charge and accused the BJP and BRS of stalling 42 per cent reservation.

BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar questioned the sincerity of BRS and BJP. He asked the two parties why they did not implead in the case filed in the High Court challenging the BC reservation GO.

He recalled that both the BJP and the BRS had supported the Bills passed in the Assembly and Council. He also questioned their silence over the Governor not approving the BC quota Bills.

“The Congress party will continue its legal and political fight until it fulfils its promise to implement 42 per cent reservation for BCs,” said Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka while countering the opposition charges.

The Deputy Chief Minister alleged that both BRS and BJP were against 42 per cent reservations for BCs. The BJP-led Centre was holding up the Bills, and the BRS in the past had issued orders imposing a ceiling of 50 per cent reservations, he said.

--IANS

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