Telangana government finalises reservations for ULB chiefs; polls likely in early February

The reservations were finalised through a draw of lots conducted at the office of the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Image used for representative purpose. (File Photo)

HYDERABAD: The state government has finalised reservations for mayors of municipal corporations and chairpersons of municipalities across Telangana, indicating that elections to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are likely to be held shortly.

The reservations were finalised through a draw of lots conducted at the office of the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) in Hyderabad on Saturday, in the presence of representatives of various political parties. Elections are expected in the first week of February, with the notifications due soon.

Among municipal corporations, the mayoral posts in Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Khammam and Nalgonda have been reserved for women (general category). Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar and Mancherial have been reserved for BC (general), Ramagundam for SC (general), Kothagudem for ST (general), while Warangal has been kept unreserved. 

38 of 121 ULB posts reserved for BCs

After the draw of lots, CDMA Commissioner TK Sreedevi told the media that reservations had been allotted in 121 municipalities. Of these, five posts have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), 17 for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 38 for Backward Classes (BC), including 19 reserved for women. The remaining 61 posts fall under the unreserved or general category.

She said the reservation exwercise was carried out on a rotation basis, treating the state as a single unit, and was applied to all ULBs irrespective of whether elections were immediately due.

Based on the recommendations of the Dedicated Commission on reservation for mayoral offices in 10 municipal corporations, one post each was reserved for ST and SC, three for BC and five kept unreserved, including five reserved for women.

With the completion of the exercise, the CDMA will write to the state government and the Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC), following which the poll schedule for ULBs where elections are due is expected to be announced.

The reservations are expected to influence the political alignment ahead of the upcoming local body elections in the state.