Congress weighs Supreme Court option to delay rural body elections

The Congress government in Telangana is exploring legal options, including moving the Supreme Court, to defer local body polls beyond the High Court's September deadline, citing delay in BC reservations and unfavourable political conditions. Opposition has criticised the move

Hyderabad: With the clock ticking on the High Court’s September-end deadline for completing local body elections, the Congress government in Telangana is reportedly weighing options to defer the polls. Sensing unfavourable ground conditions, the ruling party is exploring legal avenues, including the possibility of approaching the Supreme Court for a stay order.

A closed-door meeting chaired by Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao with senior legal experts earlier this week reportedly examined all options, from procedural leeway to constitutional safeguards. The decisive action is likely to be taken by the end of this month.

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The official explanation being considered is the delay in finalising BC reservations, a politically sensitive process that has already invited criticism. However, Congress leaders have privately admitted that the political climate is not entirely favourable under the present circumstances. They pointed out the grassroots-level conditions where discontent over unfulfilled promises and local grievances remains high.

The terms of sarpanches expired in January last year, and MPTC and ZPTC members in November, leaving local bodies under the control of special officers for several months. The delay in conducting elections since then has already drawn the judiciary’s ire and opposition criticism for undermining democratic timelines for political gain. People too are dissatisfied with the prevailing conditions, especially the lack of maintenance of basic amenities in rural areas.

However, Congress insiders indicated that the party wants time to roll out and consolidate certain welfare and development schemes that it believes could shift public opinion in its favour. These schemes, currently in the pipeline, are seen as critical to counter the narrative pushed by the opposition that the ruling party has underperformed since coming to power.

While delaying the local body polls would draw severe criticism from all quarters, the Congress is said to be prepared for it, but is not willing to take the risk of losing the elections altogether.