The Telangana Congress government is gearing up to issue a Government Order (GO) establishing 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections. This move comes as the High Court’s September 30 deadline looms and is a crucial step towards fulfilling a major election promise.
On Saturday, September 20, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy convened a high-level strategy meeting with key figures, including Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, prominent ministers like N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, D. Sridhar Babu, Seethakka, Jupally Krishna Rao, and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud. The discussion focused on the political and legal ramifications of this significant decision, with sources indicating that the GO is anticipated to be released within the current week.
This initiative, however, is poised to attract significant legal challenge due to potentially exceeding the Supreme Court’s mandated 50% cap on reservations. Despite this, the government is resolute in proceeding with the implementation and is preparing to defend its stance in court.
Initially, the Chief Minister had expressed a desire to await the Centre’s approval on pending reservation bills in New Delhi. However, with no affirmative response from the central government and increasing internal pressure, a senior leader clarified that the State felt compelled to issue the GO independently.
The prolonged absence of elected representatives in Telangana’s local bodies for over a year has created considerable pressure on the government. Backward Classes (BC) organizations, meanwhile, are advocating for the Congress to uphold statutory provisions for reservations, rather than merely distributing party tickets.
The Congress party is in a tricky situation; while eager to take credit for delivering on its promise, it is acutely aware of the potential political fallout if the reservation policy faces judicial invalidation. The previous delay was partly attributed to party leaders’ efforts to balance a pro-BC image with the desire to avoid public criticism for not implementing reservations.
Recently, the government enjoyed strong support in rural areas, largely due to popular schemes such as Rythu Bharosa and the provision of free fine rice. However, a recent shortage of urea has somewhat tarnished its reputation among farmers, raising the stakes considerably for the upcoming local body elections.