The post of mayor for four municipal corporations in the state have been reserved for women candidates for the next two terms, Telangana’s Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department announced on Sunday. This paves the way for Hyderabad to gets its first woman Mayor since the formation of the state in 2014.

Coming January 22, the state will witness urban local body elections for 120 municipalities and 10 municipal corporations.

The reservations for the chairperson and mayor posts of 136 municipalities and municipal corporations were done through a draw of lots by TK Sreedevi, MAUD Director, on Sunday at the CDMA office in Hyderabad.

Through the draw, MAUD selected four posts of chairpersons in the ST category, 17 in SC, 40 in BC and 62 in the general category.

Of the 13 municipal corporations for mayor posts, seven are reserved for general category, while four are for BCs and one mayor post each are for SC and ST. Of the seven posts for the Mayor’s office reserved in the open category, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Boduppal and Nizampet municipal corporations are set to get women mayors.

The mayor post has been reserved for ST and SC in Meerpet and Ramagundam municipal corporations respectively.

The draw of lots also decided reservation of wards for women in the state for up to 50%. The reservation will also be applicable to those municipal bodies that are not going to polls this year, reported The Hindu.

The present post of Hyderabad Mayor is held by B Ram, whose term is expected to end only in February next year. The elections for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will be held after February 2021.

The first woman Mayor of Hyderabad was Rani Kumudini Devi, who took charge in 1962. Sarojini Pulla Reddy of the Congress would become the first woman Mayor of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in 1965. In 2009, Banda Karthika Reddy of the Congress became the first woman mayor of the GHMC.