Polling for Final Phase of Gram Panchayat Elections Today

Hyderabad: The stage is set for the third and final phase of the gram panchayat elections in Telangana, scheduled to be held on Wednesday, bringing to a close the three-phase rural local body polls. Counting of votes will commence an hour after polling ends.

Election authorities have put in place elaborate arrangements to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling, which will begin at 7 am and conclude at 1 pm, with voters standing in queues at closing time allowed to exercise their franchise.

To maintain law and order, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed, and additional police forces have been deployed at sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations. Surveillance has been strengthened through webcasting at select locations, while CCTV cameras have been installed in vulnerable areas to closely monitor the polling process and prevent untoward incidents.

For the final phase, the Telangana Election Commission had notified elections to 4,159 gram panchayats and 36,452 wards. However, at 394 gram panchayats and 7,908 wards, candidates were elected unopposed. No nominations were filed in 11 gram panchayats and 116 wards, while polling was stayed by courts in two gram panchayats and 18 wards.

Consequently, elections will be held on Wednesday for 3,752 gram panchayats and over 27,000 wards.

The contest is keen, with 12,652 candidates vying for sarpanch posts and 75,725 aspirants in the fray for ward member positions. As many as 53,06,401 voters are eligible to cast their votes in this phase, including 26,01,861 men, 27,04,394 women and 140 voters in the ‘other’ category. Polling will take place across 36,483 booths spread throughout rural Telangana.

In the run-up to polling, officials reported several violations of the Model Code of Conduct. As many as 36,165 persons were bound over under preventive provisions of the BNS, while 912 licensed arms were deposited.

Seizures during enforcement drives included cash worth Rs 2.09 crore, liquor valued at Rs 3.81 crore, drugs and narcotics worth Rs 2.28 crore, precious metals and ornaments worth Rs 12.20 lakh, and other materials valued at Rs 78.33 lakh, taking the total seizures to over Rs 9.11 crore.

Campaigning concluded on Monday evening after two earlier phases were completed, and polling personnel have already been dispatched to villages with election materials. Counting of votes will begin at 2 pm on polling day, with results for wards and sarpanch posts to be announced immediately after completion.

Officials have also indicated that elections to the posts of upa-sarpanch will be conducted on the spot wherever feasible. Officials expressed confidence in the preparedness and appealed to voters to participate in large numbers in the final leg of this grassroots democratic exercise.