Congress Tweaks Dates To Reap Sops' Benefits

Hyderabad: Breaking from convention, the Congress has decided to conduct the party symbol-based zilla and mandal parishad polls first, ahead of the gram panchayat elections which are held without party affiliations. The usual practice is to hold the gram panchayat polls first.

The Congress leadership, according to sources, believes that facing elections with party symbols at this stage will allow it to capitalise on recent welfare initiatives such as the 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes in local bodies, the sanna biyyam rice distribution programme pre-scheduled from October 1 to 15 and the kharif paddy procurement drive starting in the first week of October, under which nearly Rs 20,000 crore will be credited to farmers’ accounts.

Party strategists expect these measures to generate a favourable voter response in the polls held on party symbols. Another key consideration is the anticipated Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll in November, for which the party leadership wants to devote its full attention once the parishad elections are completed.

According to party sources, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud have instructed ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs and heads of corporations that winning the ZPTC and MPTC seats on party symbols must take precedence over gram panchayat elections.

While political parties do not directly nominate candidates for gram panchayat polls, they often support individuals informally, leading to competing claims over winners. By contrast, MPTC and ZPTC contests are explicitly party-based and their results are declared along party lines, serving as a direct referendum on the Congress government’s performance. Congress leaders have been told to aim for a decisive victory in these elections in their constituencies and districts.

Against this backdrop, the party wants to complete MPTC and ZPTC polls early and then turn its focus to the Jubilee Hills bypoll. Congress leaders are confident that the ruling party will naturally hold an advantage in the subsequent gram panchayat elections, which are not fought on party symbols. TPCC chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said that the government’s welfare schemes and development programmes have created a “feel good” factor among the public.

He cited the supply of Sanna Biyyam to new ration card holders, distribution of Indiramma sarees to women self-help groups and extension of interest-free loans amounting to `20,000 crore as examples of people-oriented measures.

BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the state had credited `9,000 crore under Rythu Bharosa for kharif in just nine days, begun releasing `5 lakh each to 4.5 lakh Indiramma housing beneficiaries and started Sanna Biyyam distribution to new ration card holders.

These steps, he asserted, have created a positive wave for the Congress, which the party hopes to convert into votes. He added that the Jubilee Hills bypoll in November is a high-priority contest and the party leadership wants to deploy its full energy to wrest the seat from the BRS rather than focussing on local body polls in November.