Congress Sets 80% Win Target in Local Bodies

Hyderabad: Local bodies elections are set to become a litmus test for ministers and Congress MLAs with the party high command setting an ambitious target of winning between 80 and 90 per cent of seats in their respective Assembly constituencies and districts.

The leadership has entrusted ministers and legislators with the responsibility of ensuring victory and directed them to remain in their districts and constituencies till November 11 to oversee the campaign and organisation work.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, AICC Telangana in-charge, Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud will meet all ministers and MLAs at Gandhi Bhavan in the first week of October to finalise campaign strategies.

The TPCC has decided to launch a state-wide door-to-door campaign from October 10 in all rural areas seeking support for party nominees in the mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTC), zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTC) and Congress-backed candidates in gram panchayats.

According to TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, local party leaders and cadre have been instructed to reach out to beneficiaries of major welfare schemes such as free sanna biyyam (fine rice), Indiramma housing, Mahalakshmi free bus travel for women, Gruha Jyothi providing 200 units of free power, subsidised LPG cylinders at Rs 500, crop loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh per farmer and interest-free loans of Rs 20,000 crore to women self-help proups. By engaging with these beneficiaries directly, the party hopes to convert welfare delivery into electoral support for its candidates.

"The cadre has also been asked to highlight the Congress government’s efforts to enhance reservation for Backward Classes in education, employment and local bodies through the caste census and the appointment of a dedicated BC Commission," Mahesh Goud said.

With BCs constituting 56.33 per cent of Telangana’s population, the party is confident that its move to hike the BC quota to 42 per cent in local bodies will translate into widespread support in the elections.

The Congress has 65 MLAs in the 119-member Assembly. Each of them has been directed to focus exclusively on their constituencies and districts till November 11. In rural areas where the party lacks MLAs, leaders who contested and lost the 2023 Assembly polls have been appointed as constituency incharges. Special attention is being paid to the selection of candidates for MPTC and ZPTC constituencies, which are contested on party symbols.

District-level committees comprising ministers, MLAs and party incharges are being formed to identify candidates with strong public support and a proven record of loyalty to the party. In constituencies represented by the BRS and the BJP, the leadership is formulating tailored strategies to maximise Congress victories and consolidate its grassroots presence across Telangana.