Telangana politics heats up again with December local body polls on the cards

The Telangana Cabinet is set to decide on the schedule for long-delayed local body elections following a High Court directive. The Congress government, fresh from its Jubilee Hills bypoll win, faces mounting pressure from farmers over unfulfilled promises like paddy bonuses and the Rythu Bharosa scheme.

Hyderabad: Before the dust even settles in Jubilee Hills after a high voltage bypoll campaign, the stage is being readied for another tense political battle in Telangana, with the arena this time to shift from urban to rural settings.

With the Telangana High Court issuing a stern directive on Friday that the State has to notify an election schedule for the much delayed local body polls by November 24, Monday’s Cabinet meeting has assumed political significance in more than one way.

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While the meeting is expected to decide on the election schedule, with sources indicating that the Congress might hold the local body polls in December, coinciding with the government’s second anniversary in power, the Ministers are also likely to discuss poll sops to be announced to woo the State’s rural electorate, especially farmers.

The Cabinet meeting, coming close on the heels of the Congress victory in Jubilee Hills, could see decisions on the disbursal of bonus for fine-variety paddy, a 2023 poll promise that remains largely unfulfilled.

The crucial Rythu Bharosa scheme, another promise that faltered during implementation, may also figure in the discussions. Both schemes are being seen as efforts to placate farmers across the State, who have expressed anger at the government’s failure to ensure adequate urea and fertilisers and, more recently, smooth crop procurement process.

However, the most important decision would be related to the pre-election candidate selection process, with the 42 percent reservation to backward class communities remaining a tough nut to crack for the Congress.

Though the Revanth Reddy government tried to show that it was doing something in the form of a caste survey, an Assembly resolution and subsequent government orders, none of these failed to impress the BC communities.

The High Court’s stay on the orders, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to lift it, only added to the government’s embarrassment, with the Opposition accusing it of knowingly issuing orders that would not withstand legal scrutiny.

The High Court stayed the orders after petitions pointed out that implementing 42 percent BC reservations would take the total reservation quota to 67 percent, breaching the Supreme Court’s 50 percent cap.

The bench also criticised the State for citing the reservation issue to delay elections, even though the tenure of the local bodies ended in January 2024. Citing Article 243E of the Constitution, the court questioned the failure to hold polls within six months of the expiry of the term.

With Revanth Reddy reportedly getting approval from the party high command to implement 42 percent reservation at the party level rather than statutorily, the Chief Minister is likely to push for December local body polls. Political opponents would then be challenged to match the Congress’s 42 percent internal reservation in their candidate lists.

Though this would go against the party’s pre-poll promise of statutory reservations, with the move not to ensure exactly 42 percent reservation in local body polls but only within the party’s candidate list, the Congress might try to wriggle out of the legal and political predicament with this move, at least for the time being.