After civic body success, Telangana Cong gears up for mandal, zilla parishad polls

AFter achieving resounding success in the gramme punchayet and municipal elections crossways Telangana, the ruling u.s. Congress is power train up for the elections to mandal parishad and zilla parishad elections in March, people familiar with the matter said.The elections to 31 zilla parishads with 565 zilla parishad territorial constituency (ZPTC) seats and 566 mandal parishads with 5,773 mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTC) seats, have been pending since January 2025, when their previous term came to an end. They have been under the authority of special officers appointed by the state government.A senior Congress leader familiar with the matter said chief minister A Revanth Reddy called for a meeting of senior ministers and party leaders on Wednesday to discuss the strategy for the mandal parishad and zilla parishad elections.“The Congress is in upbeat mood after winning more than 90% of the municipalities and municipal corporations in the just concluded elections. The chief minister wants that the party should capitalise on the mood of the people and put up a similar show in the MPTC and ZPTC elections,” the party leader said.He said the chief minister wants to complete the entire electoral process in the next 20-25 days. “However, the election dates have to be worked out keeping in view the Class 10 and Intermediate examinations, apart from the budget session of the state assembly,” he said.While the Intermediate examinations will commence on February 25 and conclude on March 18, Class 10 examinations will begin on March 14 and continue till April 16. At the same time, the budget session of the state assembly will begin on March 16.The government is exploring the possibility of announcing the election schedule either before the commencement of the budget session or in a manner that aligns with it, while ensuring minimal inconvenience to the public and the education system.“The government will work out the schedule to see that the polling process does not disrupt students appearing for the examinations. A final decision will be taken at the cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on February 23 and it will be intimated to the state election commission to announce the schedule,” the Congress leader said.He said the government will have to complete the elections process for all the local bodies before the end of the financial year on March 31. “Otherwise, the state risks losing devolution of Central funds to the extent of ₹450 crore for zilla and mandal parishads. These funds could be withheld if the local bodies remain without elected representatives beyond the stipulated period,” he said.