Sarpanch Quota Changes Upsets BC Aspirants in Warangal

Warangal: The release of the sarpanch election notification has created excitement in villages, but the new reservation changes for these posts have caused widespread confusion and disappointment among aspiring candidates in the erstwhile Warangal district. The revised process has altered the prospects of many aspirants who were expecting posts based on earlier notifications. Across several villages, candidates who were confident of securing the sarpanch position now find themselves ineligible due to sudden shifts in reservation categories.

The main concerns stem from changes made to Backward Classes (BC) and Women’s reservations. The earlier notification issued on September 20 had earmarked several sarpanch posts for BC candidates. However, the revised process reversed many of those allocations, drastically altering which social groups would receive reserved posts. The abrupt changes have come as a shock to candidates who had already begun groundwork for their campaigns.

The confusion is particularly evident in Jangaon and Mahbubabad districts, where voters are puzzled by mismatches between voter profiles and reservation categories. In Lingala Ghanpur mandal’s Enabavi village, wards 5 and 6, both dominated by BC voters, have been reserved for STs.

A similar pattern is observed in Himmatnagar, Thimmapuram, Tammadapalli and Kunoor panchayats of Zaffergadh mandal, and in Potaram, Akkaraupalli and Solipuram panchayats of Tarigoppula mandal, where wards with predominantly BC voters have been reserved for SCs. These unexpected allocations have intensified frustration among local aspirants.

Conversely, in Gollapalli village of Devaruppula mandal, despite having about 200 SC voters, the sarpanch post has been classified as general, and not a single ward has been reserved for the SC community.

In Mahbubabad district, the BC reservation pattern is particularly worrying. Out of 482 gram panchayats, only 24 sarpanch posts have been reserved for BCs. Even more concerning, nine of the district’s 18 mandals have no sarpanch posts reserved for the BC community. These developments have left many residents questioning the logic behind the new reservation structure.

For context, in the 2019 panchayat elections held in the united Warangal district, 223 sarpanch posts were reserved for BCs under a 24 per cent quota, and 239 posts were reserved for STs in fully ST-populated villages.

Many BC aspirants are now deeply disappointed as the new allocations have sharply reduced their opportunities for political representation. Their frustration is compounded by the fact that the government has not ensured even the earlier 24 per cent BC quota, resulting in a significant shortfall in representation and leaving many qualified candidates without a reserved seat to contest.