Gram Panchayats Polls in Telangana to Be Held on Dec. 11, 14, 17
The elections will be conducted from 7 am to 1 pm, while the counting of votes will be conducted on the same day from 2 pm
Hyderabad: The State Election Commission on Tuesday announced that the panchayat elections would be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17. Counting will be held on the day of polling for each of the phases.
Polling will be held on non-party basis. The process will begin on November 27 and be completed by December 17, said State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini.
She said the polls will be held in three phases for 12,728 sarpanch seats and 1,12,242 ward posts across 564 mandals in 31 districts. Polling will be held for 4,236 panchayats in the first phase, 4,333 in the second and 4,159 in the final phase.
“Results will be declared on the same day. Upa-sarpanchs will be elected the same day. The whole exercise will be completed by December 17,” the official said.
About 1.6 crore voters will exercise their franchise in more than one lakh polling stations. The electorate includes 81,42,231 male and 85,12,455 female electors. Polling will be conducted using ballot boxes and ballot papers.
“In each phase we will be covering over 4,000 gram panchayats and over 35,000 wards, Rani Kumudini said and added that general observers and election observers had been already appointed.
The commissioner informed that besides a toll free number, 9240021456, a grievance module was being introduced for taking up complaints. An app will be launched shortly.
Responding to allegations that the elections were being held in haste despite the matter pending in court, Rani Kumudini clarified that it was the responsibility of the election authority to conduct polls. “Offices whose term is completed should undergo polls and it is our responsibility. Owing to various reasons and administrative and for logistics convenience the polls will be held phase wise. There will be MCC code and bandobast during the polls. Since there will be a lot of election staff involved in these free and fair elections we hope all the voters will cooperate in this,” the commissioner added.
Notice for the first round of elections will be issued on November 27, with nominations closing on November 29. Scrutiny will take place the next day, and the last date for withdrawal is December 3. Polling will be held from 7 am to 1 pm on December 11, with counting of votes beginning at 2 pm and results declared the same day.
Notice for the second round will be issued on November 30, with nominations closing on December 2. Scrutiny will be conducted on December 3, and the last date for withdrawal is December 6. Polling will conclude at 1 pm on December 14, followed by counting and declaration of results.
December 3 is the date the election notice will be issued for the third round, with nominations closing on December 5. Scrutiny will take place on December 6, and withdrawals must be completed by December 9. Counting of votes will begin after polling ends on December 17, with results announced upon completion of counting.