In a key step ahead of municipal elections in Telangana, the state government has finalised reservations in wards and offices of chairpersons/mayors in 121 municipalities and 10 corporations.
The municipal administration department on Wednesday, January 14, issued a notification regarding reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Backward Classes (BCs) and women.
Out of 10 mayoral seats, four have been reserved for women. One post each is reserved for SC and ST candidates. Three posts have been reserved for BC candidates, including one for a BC woman candidate. One post will be in the unreserved category.
Out of 300 wards in the C (GHMC), 122 have been reserved for BC candidates, including 61 for BC women candidates. 76 additional seats have also been reserved for women. There are 74 wards without reserved seats. Five seats have been reserved for STs, including two women, and 23 seats are reserved for SCs, including 11 women.
Women will have 50 per cent representation in the expanded GHMC.
The government recently merged 27 urban local bodies with the GHMC, bringing the total number of wards under the corporation to 300.
Reservation of wards has also been finalised for Kothagudem, Khammam, Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Ramagundam, Mancherial, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar corporations.
Out of 121 municipal chairperson seats, 31 have been reserved for women. The government has reserved 38 posts for BC candidates, including 19 women. Five seats have been reserved for ST candidates, including two women, and 17 seats for SC candidates, including 8 women. The 30 remaining posts are unreserved.
The State Election Commission on Tuesday published voter lists for 118 municipalities and five municipal corporations. There are a total of 52.43 lakh voters in these municipalities and corporations.
Reservations have been finalised for SC and ST communities according to the 2011 census and for BCs as per the recommendation of the Dedicated Commission. constituted to study BC reservations in the state. The state government had, in November 2024, constituted the commission under retired bureaucrat Busani Venkateshwara Rao to study the implications of the backwardness quota for Backward Class communities in the state
The EC is yet to publish voter lists for three municipalities and five corporations, including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
Elections to local bodies in urban areas in the state are likely to be held next month.
Voter mapping has been taken up in municipalities and corporations whose term ended in July 2025.