Telangana may hold remaining urban local body elections in December

With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls expected to be completed by October, the Congress government is mulling holding elections to the remaining urban local bodies (ULBs), including five municipal corporations, in December. The terms of several municipal bodies have already expired and the government risks losing Finance Commission funds if elections are delayed further.

The government is also considering elections to the Zilla Parishads and Mandal Parishads soon after the urban local body polls. The move is aimed at completing the pending local body election cycle without further delay.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is expected to be completed by October 19. Even if the deadline for claims, objections and their disposal is extended, the exercise is likely to conclude by October 31. The government is planning to use the revised electoral



rolls for the civic polls, sources said.

However, the State government is wary of the financial consequences of further postponement. The delay in panchayat elections had already left rural local bodies facing fund shortages, and the government does not want urban bodies, especially those in Hyderabad, to face a similar situation.

The government is simultaneously preparing for the next round of rural local body elections. Sources said polls to 31 Zilla Parishads, excluding Hyderabad and Medchal, and 565 Mandal Parishads could be held in a single phase after the municipal elections.

The government is also considering following the pattern adopted for the panchayat elections and proceeding without providing 42 per cent reservation for backward classes. Congress leaders have reportedly asked party workers to prepare for parishad elections on similar lines.