In Hyderabad, the Telangana Cabinet is set to decide whether local body elections will go ahead after a High Court deadline of Nov. 24. The state window opened when the High Court last week ordered the government to announce a poll schedule.
Last month, the Supreme Court and the High Court struck down a government order that had raised Backward Class (BC) reservation in local bodies to 42 %. The courts said the elections can still be held, but only with the existing 50 % cap on overall reservation. Under the current system, BCs get 27 % of seats.
The Congress‑led state government may still earmark 42 % of local‑body tickets for BCs, but it must stay below the 50 % overall limit that the courts allow. BC groups urge that elections only happen once a legal reservation of 42 % is approved, a point the High Court acknowledged but did not block.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said the cabinet will consider the issue after further discussion. Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao has asked the Panchayat Raj department to prepare a note on how to conduct the polls under the court’s guidance.
Local elections are crucial for the state. Without them, rural areas may lose Central assistance, affecting governance in villages. The State Election Commission had already issued a notification for five phased rural polls, but it was suspended after the High Court’s stay. The government’s earlier order, issued on Sept. 26, aimed to move forward, but the two Bills passed by the Assembly on Aug. 31—intended to lift the 50 % cap and raise BC reservation to 42 %—await Governor approval.
The BC reservation debate has dominated Telangana politics since the 2023 elections, when the Congress promised higher quotas in education, jobs and local bodies based on a caste‑survey report. The upcoming cabinet decision will set the stage for how the state moves forward in this key electoral process.
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