By Nagesh Bhushan Chuppala The dust has barely settled on Telangana’s 2025 gram panchayat elections, yet the verdict is unequivocal: Backward Classes (BCs) have delivered a resounding assertion of political agency. Securing between 40% and 50% of sarpanch posts—far eclipsing the paltry 17% formal quota—BC candidates have stormed seats long regarded as the preserve of dominant castes. This is no fleeting protest vote but the culmination of a two-year agitation demanding 42% reservations, a caste census, and elemental social justice. With higher-tier local body polls in 2026 and the 2028 assembly elections on the horizon, the question now is whether this grassroots momentum can be institutionalised into lasting power. History offers sobering lessons. Caste-based mobilisations in India have often flared brightly only to flicker out, dissipated by sub-caste rivalries, co-option by established parties, or judicial vetoes. For BC leaders and intellectuals in Telangana, the task is clear...