Overview

• The government issued G.O. Ms. No. 9 on September 26 to reserve 42% of seats and positions in rural and urban local bodies for Backward Classes.
• The move follows delays in Presidential assent to legislation that the State Legislature had passed unanimously to raise the quota.
• Authorities grounded the decision in the SEEEPC survey showing BCs at 56.33% of the population and in recommendations from a commission led by Busani Venkateshwara Rao, which submitted seat-wise guidance on July 28.
• With a High Court deadline of September 30 for completing local-body polls, the State Election Commission will meet senior officials on Saturday, and a notification is expected later in the day.
• The polling exercise covers 12,760 gram panchayats, 1,12,534 wards, 565 ZPTCs and 5,763 MPTCs, followed by elections for mandal parishad and zilla parishad chairpersons.