Telangana Reserves 42% Local Body Seats for BCs
Telangana govt Issues order for 42% BC reservation in all local bodies
Hyderabad: The state government on Friday issued GO No. 9 extending 42 per cent reservations for the Backward Classes (BCs) community in rural and urban local bodies, paving the way for the long-pending elections. The order was released after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy closely examined the issue at a meeting with officials of the Backward Classes and panchayat raj departments, and decided to implement the enhanced quota and conduct the elections without further delay.
The Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) is expected to issue the poll notification on Saturday, covering gram panchayats, zilla parishads and mandal parishads, with the electoral exercise likely to be completed by the end of October. Municipal elections will follow separately.
The TSEC has convened a meeting with Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jithender and senior panchayat raj officials on Saturday to finalise poll arrangements. The government had informed the Election Commission of its readiness to go ahead with the elections in October.
The development comes against the backdrop of a September 30 deadline set by the High Court for the state to finalise BC community reservations and conduct elections. With the GO issued, the government is expected to report compliance before the court and seek additional time for completing the polling process.
The decision was taken on the basis of recommendations made by the One-Man Dedicated BC Commission headed by retired IAS officer Busani Venkateshwara Rao. The commission relied on the findings of the Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey. The commission, constituted in November 2024, submitted its report in March 2025, concluding that BCs, who constitute 56.33 per cent of Telangana’s population, remained inadequately represented in political structures and therefore merited at least 42 per cent reservations in local bodies.
Accordingly, the GO noted that the constitutional provisions under Articles 243(D)(6) and 243(T)(6) empower the state to provide reservations in panchayats and municipalities. The government concluded that revising the quota to 42 per cent was necessary for the welfare and advancement of BC communities.
The move fulfils a major electoral promise of the Congress, and the party hopes to consolidate support among BC communities. However, the decision is expected to be tested in courts since the overall reservations have now climbed to 67 per cent — with BCs at 32 per cent, Scheduled Castes at 15 per cent and Scheduled Tribes at 10 per cent — exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling set by the Supreme Court.
The state government remains confident that the enhanced quota will withstand judicial scrutiny, arguing that empirical evidence and recommendations of a dedicated commission justify the decision.
Elections will be held to 12,760 gram panchayats with 1,12,534 wards, 565 zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) and 5,763 mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs).
Gram panchayat polls will be held on non-party lines.
ZPTC and MPTC elections will be contested on party symbols.
Indirect elections will decide 565 mandal parishad presidents and 31 zilla parishad chairpersons.
