For quite some time now, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has been indicating that the Centre may go ahead with simultaneous elections to Parliament and State Assemblies in 2029.
If that happens, elections in Telangana too may be held in April or May 2029, instead of the scheduled November 2028.
According to reports from Delhi, the Centre is working on a broader electoral restructuring plan, which may include a 50% increase in Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, implementation of women’s reservation, and the rollout of the One Nation, One Election framework by 2029.
The Centre is also said to be preparing to introduce the simultaneous elections bill during the current Parliament session, with the aim of putting in place major structural changes before the next general elections.
While the current term of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre ends in June 2029, the term of the present Telangana Assembly is set to conclude in December 2028. This creates a gap of nearly six months.
This has raised questions over how Telangana’s electoral schedule would be aligned if the Centre goes ahead with simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2029.
To implement simultaneous elections, the Centre may need to either extend or curtail the terms of some State Assemblies, depending on their existing tenure.
In Telangana’s case, since the Assembly’s term would expire before the proposed 2029 elections, the Centre may either have to extend the Assembly’s tenure through constitutional changes or allow the state to remain under President’s Rule during the interim period until the Lok Sabha elections are held.
The latter possibility has also been floated by some BJP leaders, though it remains politically contentious.
If the Telangana Assembly’s term is extended to align with the Lok Sabha elections, it could effectively give Revanth Reddy an extension in office and provide the Congress government more time to consolidate itself politically.
The required constitutional amendment bills to facilitate such electoral restructuring are reportedly under examination by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
There is also a possibility that the Centre may introduce the relevant legislation in Parliament during the ongoing session itself.
With the Centre appearing determined to hold the 2029 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together, the decisions taken over the next few months are likely to have a major bearing on Telangana’s political future.