Hyderabad: The Telangana State Teachers and Colleges Employees Association (TSTCEA) has urged the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana to declare holidays in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts on the upcoming gram panchayat election dates — December 11, 14, and 17.In a representation, State president Aineni Santosh Kumar, the association highlighted that several universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) and Osmania University, along with autonomous colleges, have scheduled examinations on the same days of the elections. This overlap, they argued, would prevent thousands of students and employees from exercising their right to vote.

The association stressed that many students enrolled in these institutions hail from rural areas and are registered voters in their native villages. Similarly, employees working in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts often travel back to their hometowns to cast their votes. Conducting examinations on polling days, they said, would effectively disenfranchise these groups.

Santosh Kumar pointed out that the Election Commission’s responsibility is to ensure maximum voter participation, and holding exams on election days contradicts this objective. “If exams are conducted on polling days, how will students and employees both vote and write their exams? This situation requires serious reconsideration,” he stated.The association requested that universities postpone examinations scheduled on December 11, 14, and 17, and that the state government declare public holidays in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy regions to facilitate voting. They emphasised that the presence of numerous higher education institutions in these districts makes the issue particularly pressing, as a large number of rural youth study and work there.