HYDERABAD: With just a few days left before the High Court-mandated deadline to finalise reservations for local body elections ends, the state administration finds itself in a tight spot.
At the heart of the delay lies the pending approval of the Telangana Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, a critical legislative instrument required to enforce the state government’s decision to enhance Backward Class reservations to 42%.
Officials involved in the electoral process now fear that they may face contempt of court proceedings if reservations for ward members and sarpanches are not declared within the court-set time frame.
On June 25, the Telangana High Court directed the state government, State Election Commission (SEC) and other authorities concerned to complete the reservation process within 30 days.
“The state has taken a policy decision to increase reservations, which cannot be implemented without the Governor’s assent to the ordinance. That’s what has held us back,” a senior official familiar with the issue said on condition of anonymity.
The court has also set another binding date — September 30 — as the deadline to complete the local body election process. If reservation lists are not notified immediately, officials opine that the entire election schedule may fall apart.
“Once the ordinance is cleared, we can issue reservations and proceed. But unless that happens soon, the timeline becomes impossible,” said an officer directly involved in election preparations.
The uncertainty underscores a broader governance challenge — the intersection of legal directives, and political policy decisions. As the clock ticks, both the administration and the Election Commission are in wait-and-watch mode, with rising anxiety about the implications of further delay.