Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 17 (ANI): Telangana BJP President Ramchander Rao on Saturday said that municipal elections in the state are likely to be held in the coming days and asserted that the party is fully prepared and confident of a strong performance.

Speaking to ANI in Hyderabad, Rao said that the BJP had held a preparatory meeting to review election readiness and organisational strategies.

Rao said, 'The municipal elections in Telangana are likely to be conducted in a few days. Today, we have a preparatory meeting... The BJP is confident it will perform really well in the elections.'

Earlier, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy announced that the Central Government has significantly increased funding for Telangana's local bodies. Compared with previous years, the budget for these rural offices has increased by 80 per cent to 9,050 crore.

The Centre has allocated over Rs 11,000 crore to Gram Panchayats and local bodies in the state over the past decade. Reddy said that the timely release of funds would improve accountability and transparency at the grassroots level.

'The Government of India (GoI) has taken the decision to release funds for strengthening Gram Panchayats and local bodies in Telangana. Over the past decade, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the GoI has allocated more than 11,000 crore to Gram Panchayats and local bodies in the state. In the period between 2015-16 and 2019-20, 5,060 crore was released, while allocations for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26 increased by 80 per cent to 9,050 crore, of which 6,051 crore has already been released', Reddy stated.

The Minister further added that the first instalment of 260 crore for 2024-25 would be released shortly by the Union Government, following the completion of local body elections in Telangana and the submission of Utilisation Certificates for 2023-24. The remaining amount of approximately 2,500 crore would be released in a phased manner upon further submission of Utilisation Certificates. (ANI)