T'gana ramps up welfare ahead of panchayat polls
Hyderabad: Indications from recent govt actions suggest that panchayat elections in Telangana are likely to be held in July, followed by MPTC, ZPTC, and municipal elections. The govt appears to be in full election mode, aligning welfare rollouts, financial clearances, and district tours with the poll preparations.
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To clear bottlenecks ahead of the polls, the state has released 153 crore in pending panchayat bills, with an additional 300 crore expected soon. This is widely seen as part of efforts to strengthen rural governance and rebuild goodwill.
At the same time, the govt is gearing up to launch the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme on June 2, aimed at youth self-employment, which is likely to benefit around five lakh individuals, including Congress workers and unemployed youth.
Ration cards distribution
Another key component of the strategy is the mass distribution of ration cards to all eligible beneficiaries within June. Additionally, the pending Rythu Bharosa payments are expected to be credited to farmers by the end of the month—measures clearly designed to build public support ahead of the elections, sources say.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy's recent district tours and one-on-one meetings with MLAs are being viewed as groundwork for both governance review and candidate selection.
Senior officials, sources say, have already received instructions to begin preparations for smooth election conduct.
Crucially, delays in elections have stalled over 1,600 crore in 15th Finance Commission funds from the Centre, which can be released only after the formation of new governing bodies.
While the village panchayat bodies' terms ended in Feb 2024, mandal and zilla parishads expired in July last year, and municipal bodies concluded terms last month, elections have not been conducted in over a year.
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Electoral readiness
Analysts said the Congress govt appears to be moving quickly to balance welfare outreach with electoral readiness, signalling that the road to the local body elections has officially begun.
With the Centre initiating a nationwide caste census, uncertainty remains around legislative approval for the state's proposed 42% reservation for BCs in local body elections. In light of this, the Congress govt is reportedly preparing to enforce the reservation independently during candidate selection.
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