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Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana set to scrap 2-child norm ahead of panchayat polls
1 2 Hyderabad: In a move that could significantly alter the rural political landscape ahead of gram panchayat elections, the Congress govt is preparing to scrap the decades-old two-child norm that bars candidates with more than two children from contesting local body polls. Sources close to chief minister A Revanth Reddy confirmed that the proposal to delete section 21(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, will be placed before the cabinet at its next meeting. Ministers have already expressed unanimous support for lifting the restriction, which was introduced in 1994 during the united Andhra Pradesh era. The govt believes the change is urgent, especially in light of its plan to provide 42% reservations to Backward Classes in local body elections. "Removing the norm will give political parties greater choice in selecting candidates not only from BCs but from other communities as well," a senior official explained. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad The move comes amid concerns that states which effectively curbed population growth—often through measures like the two-child norm—could lose political clout and central funds once the delimitation freeze ends in 2026. Several states have already removed similar restrictions, including Andhra Pradesh, which passed legislation to that effect last year. Telangana's cabinet will decide whether to introduce the change through an ordinance or a bill in the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly. The Telangana high court had earlier upheld the two-child clause, stating it was for the govt to decide its removal. Petitioners argued the rule discriminated against rural candidates, as it had already been scrapped for urban municipal elections. State govt adviser on SC, ST, BC, and minority affairs, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, said the norm was outdated. "Even China is encouraging people to have more children. Telangana too should remove it for the upcoming panchayat polls," he said. The move reflects a growing nationwide trend to scrap the two-child norm, driven by concerns over an ageing population and the pressing need to encourage a younger generation, he added. If the BC quota is implemented, parties will need nearly 50,000 BC candidates to contest in about 12,800 gram panchayats, plus over 1.13 lakh ward posts. The Telangana State Election Commission is already preparing electoral rolls to hold polls before Sept 30, as directed by the high court. Amid concerns over a declining population and its long-term impact on the workforce, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has urged people to consider having more children. Citing global examples and the need to sustain demographic balance, he said a shrinking younger population could hurt economic growth and social stability, and stressed that families should rethink limiting themselves to just one or two children. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana likely to hold local body elections in July
Hyderabad: After dilly-dallying on holding elections to rural local bodies, the state govt has reportedly decided to go ahead with holding polls to the local bodies in July. Though Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has already made all preparations a couple of months ago, the decision on the elections was kept on hold by the govt with the outcome of caste survey and demand from the various BC organisations that the elections should be held only after enhancing the BC reservations to 42% as promised by Congress. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sources in the govt said the NDA govt's decision on inclusion of caste census in general census, likely to begin this year-end, in fact bailed out the Congress govt from the issue as the caste census would resolve the problem permanently and legally. The assembly has already adopted two bills, BC reservations in local bodies and also education and employments to 42% separately, and they have been sent to the Centre for approval. "The entire exercise of census, including caste census like collection, enumeration, compilation and approval takes minimum two years. The state govt cannot wait for two years without holding the elections. The terms of gram panchayats and zilla parishad had ended last year," a senior official said. The term of gram panchayats ended on January 31 2024, while zilla parishads in July last year. The state govt was worried over the delay in getting funds from the Centre to the local bodies. The Centre has not released nearly 2,000 crore to the state as it was mandatory to have elected local bodies to release the funds. If the elections get delayed, the govt would lose 1,500 crore every year, due to no elected bodies in panchayats. Soon after the Centre's announcement on caste census, chief minister A Revanth Reddy held a meeting with party BC leaders on Thursday and discussed about the polls. Many of the leaders said they cannot wait for the completion of caste census as the state govt was losing revenue and there has been pressure on the state to release funds to panchayats and pending bills to sarpanches. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Congress BC MLAs were also of the opinion that apart from financial issues, they cannot predict the political conditions in the rural bodies. They also okayed to go to the polls with old quota for BCs and some even suggested that the party could ensure 42% tickets to BCs in the local bodies. During a press conference on Thursday, Revanth Reddy said there was no link between the caste census and local bodies polls in Telangana indicating it might go ahead with the elections. TGSEC has already completed pre-poll exercises for conducting gram panchayat elections , including identification of polling stations, finalising the symbols, and even printing ballot papers in the state. It even asked the district election authorities to publish draft electoral rolls of mandal praja parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) in Feb. Hyderabad: After dilly-dallying on holding elections to rural local bodies, the state govt has reportedly decided to go ahead with holding polls to the local bodies in July. Though Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has already made all preparations a couple of months ago, the decision on the elections was kept on hold by the govt with the outcome of caste survey and demand from the various BC organisations that the elections should be held only after enhancing the BC reservations to 42% as promised by Congress. Sources in the govt said the NDA govt's decision on inclusion of caste census in general census, likely to begin this year-end, in fact bailed out the Congress govt from the issue as the caste census would resolve the problem permanently and legally. The assembly has already adopted two bills, BC reservations in local bodies and also education and employments to 42% separately, and they have been sent to the Centre for approval. "The entire exercise of census, including caste census like collection, enumeration, compilation and approval takes minimum two years. The state govt cannot wait for two years without holding the elections. The terms of gram panchayats and zilla parishad had ended last year," a senior official said. The term of gram panchayats ended on January 31 2024, while zilla parishads in July last year. The state govt was worried over the delay in getting funds from the Centre to the local bodies. The Centre has not released nearly 2,000 crore to the state as it was mandatory to have elected local bodies to release the funds. If the elections get delayed, the govt would lose 1,500 crore every year, due to no elected bodies in panchayats. Soon after the Centre's announcement on caste census, chief minister A Revanth Reddy held a meeting with party BC leaders on Thursday and discussed about the polls. Many of the leaders said they cannot wait for the completion of caste census as the state govt was losing revenue and there has been pressure on the state to release funds to panchayats and pending bills to sarpanches. Congress BC MLAs were also of the opinion that apart from financial issues, they cannot predict the political conditions in the rural bodies. They also okayed to go to the polls with old quota for BCs and some even suggested that the party could ensure 42% tickets to BCs in the local bodies. During a press conference on Thursday, Revanth Reddy said there was no link between the caste census and local bodies polls in Telangana indicating it might go ahead with the elections. TGSEC has already completed pre-poll exercises for conducting gram panchayat elections, including identification of polling stations, finalising the symbols, and even printing ballot papers in the state. It even asked the district election authorities to publish draft electoral rolls of mandal praja parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) in Feb.
