Congress in Telangana to face first grassroots test as SEC announces schedule for local body polls

Hyderabad: Nearly 22 months after coming to power, the Congress in Telangana is set to face its first grassroots test as the State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced the schedule for local body elections to Panchayats, ZPTCs and MPTCs across 31 districts and 565 mandals in the state.

State Election Commissioner I Rani Kumudini said the polls would be held in five phases, beginning October 9. Elections to ZPTCs and MPTCs will take place in two phases- the first on October 23 and the second on October 27.

Subsequently, polling for Gram Panchayats will be conducted in three phases on October 31, November 4, and November 8. Counting of votes for Gram Panchayats will take place the same day as the polling, while counting for ZPTCs and MPTCs is scheduled for November 11.

Ballot papers and ballot boxes will be used for polling. Since additional ballot boxes were required, the SEC has borrowed them from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. Last week, the state government also issued a GO finalising reservations for Backward Classes in these elections.

With the dates announced, all major parties are gearing up to swing into campaign mode. The ruling Congress, Opposition BRS, and the BJP are preparing intensively for what is seen as a key indicator of political sentiment in rural Telangana.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress had consolidated its position in rural areas, while BRS retained its strength in urban zones, particularly in the GHMC region. The BJP, which has grown steadily since last year’s Lok Sabha polls, is working to capture a majority of local bodies.

BRS has already launched its "Debt Card" campaign, accusing the Congress of failing to honour election promises. Both Congress and the opposition parties have expressed confidence in securing strong victories.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, reacting to the announcement, said the people would endorse the Congress once again in the local elections.

He recalled how the BRS government had destroyed the state’s financial and administrative systems over the past decade, and claimed the Congress government is steadily correcting them. He added that welfare and development programmes targeting farmers, women, and youth had earned public trust.

For social justice, he said, Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, and the "Indiramma Sarkar" had fulfilled the long-pending aspirations of Backward Classes, asserting that 99% of the party’s poll promises had already been fulfilled.

BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao, meanwhile, declared that his party was fully prepared and confident of sweeping the polls from the galli (street) level to Delhi.

Addressing workers at Telangana Bhavan, on Monday KTR accused the Congress of losing public faith and predicted the government would suffer a humiliating defeat as people were turning back towards K. Chandrashekar Rao’s leadership.