BC Aspirants Decry Poor Reservation in Sarpanch Polls
BC organisations have strongly criticised the poor level of representation in the reservation list.
Adilabad: Many Backward Classes (BC) candidates aspiring to contest the upcoming Sarpanch elections are deeply disappointed with the limited number of seats reserved for BCs. BC organisations have strongly criticised the poor level of representation in the reservation list.
Several aspiring candidates have already begun informal campaigning on social media, announcing their intention to contest by updating their WhatsApp status and sharing posts to reach people in their villages. Many are using social media as a free tool to test political waters, gather feedback and build visibility.
Of the north Telangana districts, only Nirmal has a comparatively higher number of BC-reserved Sarpanch seats, unlike Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad and Mancherial districts.
According to BC organisations: Adilabad: 23 out of 473 sarpanch seats reserved for BCs (4.86%), Komaram Bheem Asifabad: 20 out of 335 seats (5.97%), Mancherial: 23 out of 306 seats (7.51%) and Nirmal: 72 out of 400 seats (18%).
BC groups argue that the community suffered a setback in reservation allotment because seats were reserved by taking the entire state as a single unit. Overall, only 17.87 per cent of Sarpanch seats across Telangana have been reserved for BCs.
Congress BC leader Vinod from Sathnala mandal said winning from general seats is extremely difficult for BC candidates, even when the Congress fields BC nominees. He pointed out that general-category candidates often have more financial resources and greater social influence in villages. He added that opposition parties are under no obligation to field BC candidates in general seats merely because Congress has done so.
Vinod also questioned how many BC aspirants can afford an election campaign when at least ₹7 lakh is needed to contest for Sarpanch in a large village and ₹4 lakh in a smaller one.
