Hyderabad: Riding on a wave of recent victories, the Congress govt in Telangana is preparing to test its strength in the next tier of rural power — the zilla parishad system.With momentum on its side after gram panchayat and municipal polls, the govt is keen to advance ZPTC and MPTC elections quickly, but administrative constraints and financial deadlines have left it weighing whether to hold them in March or push them to early April.Set to be held in April The issue is expected to come up at the state cabinet meeting on Feb 23, where a final decision on the election schedule may be taken and conveyed to the State Election Commission. While the govt prefers an early poll to capitalise on the favourable political climate, it must first complete the state budget process. The assembly session is scheduled to begin on Feb 26 and is likely to run for about 10 days. Immediately after, SSC pre-final and final examinations will commence in the second week of March. Officials noted that elections cannot be conducted during this period because schoolteachers — who form the backbone of polling staff — will be engaged in examination duties. As a result, April remains the most practical window. At the same time, there is urgency within the govt. About 450 crore in pending central funds linked to zilla parishads could lapse if elections are not held before March 31. This financial consideration has intensified pressure to conduct polls at the earliest possible date.Electoral gainsCongress ministers and MLAs are strongly in favour of immediate elections, citing recent electoral gains. The party claims that in the Dec 2025 gram panchayat elections, candidates backed by Congress won 8,300 of the 12,702 sarpanch posts — roughly 66%. In the subsequent municipal elections, the party secured control of 88 out of 116 municipalities, reinforcing its confidence ahead of the rural local body polls. Interestingly, the SEC had originally planned to conduct MPTC and ZPTC elections before the panchayat polls and had completed preparatory steps such as voter lists, polling station identification and ballot printing. However, the state govt opted to prioritise panchayat elections at the time due to stalled central funds.
