Telangana local body poll aspirants on edge ahead of HC hearing on BC reservations

Telangana local body aspirants face uncertainty ahead of the High Court hearing on October 8 regarding the 42% BC reservation government order. Campaign planning is affected, and parties are raising objections over allocation, creating tension among aspirants and political stakeholders

Hyderabad: With the Telangana High Court scheduled to hear the case on October 8 regarding the government order providing 42 per cent reservations to BCs, apprehensions are growing among aspirants preparing to contest the forthcoming local body elections.

Though the State Election Commission released the schedule on Monday for Gram Panchayat, ZPTC and MPTC polls, doubts remain over how the reservations issue will play out. Much is at stake for aspirants from both the ruling and opposition parties. Normally, once the schedule is announced, aspirants begin mobilising workers, planning campaigns and spending heavily to reach out to voters.

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The elections will be held in three phases beginning October 31. With the model code of conduct already in force and nearly a month to go for the first phase, aspirants face the challenge of maintaining political momentum mentally, physically and financially.

A political analyst noted that everything now hinges on the High Court hearing. “If the High Court strikes down the GO, things will take a major turn. There is a lot of tension among aspirants and political parties,” he observed. He added that the Congress government, which delayed the elections citing the political atmosphere, would have been well aware of the possibility of the GO being struck down. In case that happens, the party might attempt to project that it had tried its best to extend reservations but was thwarted by the court order, lack of support from other parties and the absence of Presidential assent. Much will depend on how other parties expose the Congress over this.

Meanwhile, political parties have already started verbal duels over their “commitment” to reservations. Complaints are also surfacing over the allocation of reservations in different mandals. Congress MLA from Choppadandi, Medipally Satyam, objected to the reservations in his constituency. In a letter to Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, he urged the State government to reconduct the reservation process in Karimnagar and Jagtial districts.