Hyderabad: After dilly-dallying on holding elections to rural local bodies, the state govt has reportedly decided to go ahead with holding polls to the local bodies in July. Though Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has already made all preparations a couple of months ago, the decision on the elections was kept on hold by the govt with the outcome of caste survey and demand from the various BC organisations that the elections should be held only after enhancing the BC reservations to 42% as promised by Congress.
Sources in the govt said the NDA govt’s decision on inclusion of caste census in general census, likely to begin this year-end, in fact bailed out the Congress govt from the issue as the caste census would resolve the problem permanently and legally. The assembly has already adopted two bills, BC reservations in local bodies and also education and employments to 42% separately, and they have been sent to the Centre for approval.
“The entire exercise of census, including caste census like collection, enumeration, compilation and approval takes minimum two years. The state govt cannot wait for two years without holding the elections. The terms of gram panchayats and zilla parishad had ended last year,” a senior official said. The term of gram panchayats ended on January 31 2024, while zilla parishads in July last year.
The state govt was worried over the delay in getting funds from the Centre to the local bodies. The Centre has not released nearly 2,000 crore to the state as it was mandatory to have elected local bodies to release the funds. If the elections get delayed, the govt would lose 1,500 crore every year, due to no elected bodies in panchayats.
Soon after the Centre’s announcement on caste census, chief minister A Revanth Reddy held a meeting with party BC leaders on Thursday and discussed about the polls. Many of the leaders said they cannot wait for the completion of caste census as the state govt was losing revenue and there has been pressure on the state to release funds to panchayats and pending bills to sarpanches.
Congress BC MLAs were also of the opinion that apart from financial issues, they cannot predict the political conditions in the rural bodies. They also okayed to go to the polls with old quota for BCs and some even suggested that the party could ensure 42% tickets to BCs in the local bodies.
During a press conference on Thursday, Revanth Reddy said there was no link between the caste census and local bodies polls in Telangana indicating it might go ahead with the elections.
TGSEC has already completed pre-poll exercises for conducting gram panchayat elections, including identification of polling stations, finalising the symbols, and even printing ballot papers in the state. It even asked the district election authorities to publish draft electoral rolls of mandal praja parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) in Feb.
Hyderabad: After dilly-dallying on holding elections to rural local bodies, the state govt has reportedly decided to go ahead with holding polls to the local bodies in July. Though Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has already made all preparations a couple of months ago, the decision on the elections was kept on hold by the govt with the outcome of caste survey and demand from the various BC organisations that the elections should be held only after enhancing the BC reservations to 42% as promised by Congress.
Sources in the govt said the NDA govt’s decision on inclusion of caste census in general census, likely to begin this year-end, in fact bailed out the Congress govt from the issue as the caste census would resolve the problem permanently and legally. The assembly has already adopted two bills, BC reservations in local bodies and also education and employments to 42% separately, and they have been sent to the Centre for approval.
“The entire exercise of census, including caste census like collection, enumeration, compilation and approval takes minimum two years. The state govt cannot wait for two years without holding the elections. The terms of gram panchayats and zilla parishad had ended last year,” a senior official said. The term of gram panchayats ended on January 31 2024, while zilla parishads in July last year.
The state govt was worried over the delay in getting funds from the Centre to the local bodies. The Centre has not released nearly 2,000 crore to the state as it was mandatory to have elected local bodies to release the funds. If the elections get delayed, the govt would lose 1,500 crore every year, due to no elected bodies in panchayats.
Soon after the Centre’s announcement on caste census, chief minister A Revanth Reddy held a meeting with party BC leaders on Thursday and discussed about the polls. Many of the leaders said they cannot wait for the completion of caste census as the state govt was losing revenue and there has been pressure on the state to release funds to panchayats and pending bills to sarpanches.
Congress BC MLAs were also of the opinion that apart from financial issues, they cannot predict the political conditions in the rural bodies. They also okayed to go to the polls with old quota for BCs and some even suggested that the party could ensure 42% tickets to BCs in the local bodies.
During a press conference on Thursday, Revanth Reddy said there was no link between the caste census and local bodies polls in Telangana indicating it might go ahead with the elections.
TGSEC has already completed pre-poll exercises for conducting gram panchayat elections, including identification of polling stations, finalising the symbols, and even printing ballot papers in the state. It even asked the district election authorities to publish draft electoral rolls of mandal praja parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) in Feb.

Do you have a go-to seat at the movies? Maybe the centre for the perfect view, or the aisle for a quick exit. Maybe you want a quiet corner, away from distractions. Or maybe you just grab whatever’s left – especially if you’re with friends and want to sit together. You may not think of yourself as picky, but a consumer study insights say otherwise. The study says that moviegoers go for the same kind of seats they’ve been choosing for years without realising it. So, where’s the best seat in the theatre? Depends on who you ask. We look at what industry insiders say.
Seat selection is far from uniform, depends on personality: Study
Recently, a ticketing platform dug into audience’s seat preferences. Using years of data, they launched a campaign showing just how varied and personal seat selection really is. What they found was less about trends but more about personality, and far from uniform. The study revealed, “Some moviegoers prefer aisle seats for easy movement, while others opt for corners to minimise distractions. While front-row seats might be overlooked in one auditorium, they could be highly sought-after in another where plush recliners offer premium comfort.”

Are the last few rows the best?
Some moviegoers are very particular about where they sit – what’s the point of watching a film, they ask, if you’re not picking your favourite seat? Raj Bansal, veteran exhibitor and cinema business analyst, says seat selection has evolved with technology. “Where you sit in a cinema hall has changed,” he explains, “Earlier, people would gravitate toward seats closer to the loudspeakers for better sound. That’s no longer an issue. Most auditoriums now have excellent audio across the board. The last two or three rows are still the most preferred, especially when gifting tickets.” Filmmakers and tech experts around the world might not always agree on the best seat in a cinema, but there’s a general consensus that the second or third row from the back, smack in the middle, tends to be the sweet spot. During a screening of Raazi in Delhi, filmmaker Meghna Gulzar declared, “Always the second-to-last row. Never the last.”

A case for the front row
Bhuvan, a moviegoer explains, “The whole point of going to the movies is to immerse yourself in another world. When I watch something on TV, there’s no one between me and the screen – and it’s the same with a phone or tablet. But in a cinema hall, if I end up in the back rows, I’m constantly distracted by blinking phone screens. That’s why I’ve come to love the front rows. The trick is to pick auditoriums with recliners or screens where there’s enough distance between the front row and the screen itself. I really think everyone should try it at least once – it’s a surprisingly immersive experience.”
How to pick the best seat in the cinema

Middle of theatre is Nolan’s favourite
Christopher Nolan once revealed his secret for picking the best seat in a cinema hall during the release of Oppenheimer. “When I’m in a theatre that’s Cinemascope ratio, I like to be right near the front, middle of the third row. When I’m in a stadium, IMAX 1.43:1, then I actually like to be a little behind the centerline, right in the middle. So, a little further back.”
While Nolan said that seat choice is personal, experts tend to agree.