The Telangana High Court on Monday stayed a notification by the state election commission (SEC) that had announced the election schedule for 120 municipalities and 10 municipal corporations in the state.
On December 23, the SEC had released a schedule, where it said that the notification for the elections would be issued on January 7 and the polls would be held on January 22, while the counting of votes would take place on January 25.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Abhishek Reddy was hearing petitions filed by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy and a few others.
The petitioners claimed that the election notification was issued before the reservation of wards was announced, which was a violation of the Telangana Municipalities Act.
When this was pointed out to the court, the SEC's counsel claimed that finalisation of reservations was to be undertaken by the state government and did not fall under the duties of the poll body.
Asking for further details from the SEC and observing that the matter needed more detailed scrutiny, the court issued a stay on the notification and said that the case would be heard as the first one in the list on Tuesday.
With the municipal polls approaching, all major parties in the state, are gearing up for a fight.
Earlier this week, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a meeting with his ministerial colleagues, MLAs, MPs, MLCs and other leaders to prepare the party for the municipal election.
Uttam Kumar also addressed a preparatory meeting of the Congress, for the municipal elections, at Miryalaguda on Saturday.
However, KCR has maintained silence over the issue, he alleged. He demanded that a special session of the assembly be convened to reject the controversial Act and proposals.
Meanwhile, state BJP president K Laxman alleged that the TRS government and the state election commission were in a hurry to conduct the elections without the faulty voters’ lists and other alleged irregularities rectified.
The fight is largely expected to be between the TRS and the Congress, with the BJP also in the fray.