With just two weeks left for the first phase of Telangana’s long-delayed Gram
Panchayat elections, political activity is picking up in rural areas.
The three main parties—ruling Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—are speeding up their campaigns. Though the elections
are not officially party-based, parties are preparing to support their preferred
candidates.
The State Election Commission (SEC) announced on 25 November that elections for
12,728 gram panchayats and over 1.12 lakh wards will be held on 11, 14, and 17
December. Over 1.6 crore rural voters are expected to vote.
The elections were delayed by nearly 22 months due to administrative and legal
issues. Special officers have been managing the panchayats since 1 February 2024.
The previous gram panchayat elections were held in January 2019 during the BRS
government.