Congress wary of public mood, central funds ahead of pending local body elections

The Telangana government faces a dilemma over conducting long-pending local body elections, with concerns over anti-incumbency sentiment and public dissatisfaction on key issues potentially affecting the ruling Congress. At the same time, continued delays could result in the loss of substantial Finance Commission funds.

Hyderabad: The Congress government is facing a difficult decision over the long-pending elections to ZPTCs, MPTCs, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), and the Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations.

Elections to these bodies have been due for some time. The government is apprehensive about the possible impact of public discontent over the 22 A row, rising prices of essential commodities, unfulfilled electoral promises, water and power crises, and other pressing issues. However, further delays in holding the elections could put central funding at risk.

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The 565 Mandal Parishads and 31 Zilla Parishads receive a combined annual allocation of nearly Rs. 300 crore under the 15th Finance Commission. The State government has failed to secure about Rs. 600 crore over the past two years as elections were not conducted before March 31. If the elections are delayed further, the State risks losing another Rs. 300 crore.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is scheduled to be completed by November 5, with the final electoral rolls expected to be published on November 9.

With elections to Gram Panchayats and municipalities already completed, polls to the Mandal and Zilla Parishads remain pending. The State Election Commission (SEC) has directed officials to map voters ward-wise across Gram Panchayats using the latest electoral roll data provided by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on February 5, 2026.

The SEC has also instructed Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), District Panchayat Officers (DPOs) and Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs) to complete the mapping process on a war footing.

The five-year term of the GHMC council ended in February this year. The GHMC has since been divided into three corporations, including the Medchal Malkajgiri and Cyberabad municipal corporations. The terms of the Khammam and Warangal municipal corporations also ended this year.

The ruling Congress has already suffered a setback in the TGSRTC union elections. In the Singareni elections, the CPI-affiliated AITUC secured company-level representation, while the Congress-affiliated INTUC won six of the 11 individual divisions.

Meanwhile, the Left parties and Telangana Jana Samithi are keen to contest the upcoming MLC elections. These developments have added to the Congress leadership’s concerns over the pending local body polls.

A senior leader from Gandhi Bhavan acknowledged these apprehensions and said the elections could be held in December. Further delays, the leader said, could have an even greater adverse impact on the party’s prospects.

“As Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that the El Nino impact would last for another 10 months, delaying elections further would not be wise,” the leader added.