Hyderabad: The Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have allotted more than 50 per cent of their tickets to candidates from Backward Communities (BCs) for the municipal polls scheduled in Telangana on February 11, significantly exceeding the proportion of wards reserved for BCs under the existing quota framework.
According to data released by the three parties, the ruling Congress has allotted 1,601 tickets to BC candidates, accounting for 53.69 per cent of its total nominations.
The BRS has fielded 1,580 BC candidates (52.98 per cent), while the BJP has allotted 1,493 tickets, amounting to 50.07 per cent.
These allocations come despite BC reservations being officially capped at 28.21 per cent of wards in 121 municipalities and 35.24 per cent in 10 municipal corporations.
Under the reservation policy notified by the government, the combined quota for BCs, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) cannot exceed 50 per cent.
Congress’s unsuccessful attempt at 42 pc reservation
The ticket distribution follows the Congress government’s unsuccessful attempt to provide 42 per cent reservation to BCs in local body elections. The government had issued a government order in December 2025 to implement the enhanced quota, but it was struck down by the High Court.
A subsequent appeal before the Supreme Court also failed to secure relief.
Following the court setbacks, chief minister A Revanth Reddy announced that the Congress would ensure at least 42 per cent representation for BCs through intra-party ticket allocation. In practice, all three major parties exceeded that benchmark.
EC notification for municipal polls
The State Election Commission has issued notifications for elections to 2,996 wards across 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations. Fourteen wards were declared elected unopposed after the withdrawal deadline, leaving polling to be held in 2,982 wards.
Polling to take place across 123 ULBs, 7 corporations, 116 municipalities
Polling will take place across 123 urban local bodies, including seven municipal corporations and 116 municipalities.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will not be part of this phase, as its term ends on February 10, a day before the elections.
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