Local body elections in one go?

Hyderabad: A day after expressing his reservations over the ‘One Nation-One Election’ policy at the national level, stating that it goes against the federal spirit, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy appears to be in favor of implementing ‘One State-One Election’ for the upcoming local body elections.

According to sources, the Chief Minister believes that conducting all local body elections—Gram Panchayats, Municipalities, Mandal Praja Parishads and Zilla Parishads—simultaneously would help reduce mounting election expenditure and conclude political activities in a shorter time frame.

Politically, he also sees this as a strategy to limit the Opposition’s opportunity to engage in negative campaigning. The CM is of the opinion that holding all local body elections together would provide the Congress with a political advantage. The government anticipates that by the time these elections take place, it will have implemented the Rythu Bharosa scheme.

This scheme aims to reduce farmers’ dependence on loans by offering direct financial assistance. Under this initiative, eligible farmers will receive Rs 6,000 per acre per season, totaling Rs 12,000 per acre annually for both Rabi and Kharif crop seasons. Revanth Reddy has suggested that the entire OSOE (One State-One Election) process should be completed within a week or ten days. While Gram Panchayat elections will be conducted using ballot papers, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used for Mandal and Zilla Parishad elections.

The CM believes that under the current system, it would take at least three months to complete the local body election process. A week-long schedule for all elections would help minimize both administrative and financial burdens.

Official sources have indicated that the Chief Minister has instructed the State Election Commission (SEC), along with the Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration, Urban Development, and BC Welfare departments, to collaborate in finalizing BC reservations for local bodies and expedite the election process. The goal is to ensure that all local body elections are held concurrently.

Meanwhile, the SEC is planning to issue a notification for local body elections soon after the Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections scheduled for the first week of March.