Postal Ballots Matter More In Local Body Polls
Dandu Madhukar of Thantoli gram panchayat of Adilabad rural mandal said a majority of the 18 government employees from their village were deployed on election duties in some other places.
ADILABAD: The importance of postal ballots is stressed as every vote plays a decisive role in the elections of grama panchayat sarpanches and ward members, as also in other local body polls.
For instance, the number of voters is less in small gram panchayats, where the win is often by a margin of a few votes, unlike the assembly and parliament polls where larger voter numbers are involved.
In view of this, candidates for the GP elections have urged postal voters -- government employees, especially police personnel, government teachers doing election duties in other places, etc -- to vote for them. They also shared the details of their symbols.
Candidates are also asking government employees working elsewhere to come to their villages to exercise their vote and promising them free transportation.
Dandu Madhukar of Thantoli gram panchayat of Adilabad rural mandal said a majority of the 18 government employees from their village were deployed on election duties in some other places. They have the option to use the postal ballot facility to cast their votes.
He said there were previous situations where ward members and sarpanches have lost or won with as low as 1 to 10 votes. There are even incidents where victory was decided on a coin toss.
Tudam Vinod of Chanda (T) gram panchayat said 30 voters from a fourth ward lived in the Adilabad Rural mandal. Candidates requested the voters living in the Adilabad town to come and exercise their vote in their native village Chanda (T) on the polling day.
Grama Panchayat elections in Telangana are taking place on December 11, 14 and 17.
There are two Congress candidates in Mavala, Chanda (T) and Bheemsari gram panchayats and some gram panchayats in Bela and Jainad mandal.
A Congress leader unilaterally fielded his own nominees as candidates and declared them as Congress candidates, though another senior Congress leader has already filed nominations with the support of the party cadre and second-rung leaders.
As many as 676 candidates remain in the fray for the 156 posts of sarpanches. Some 2540 candidates are spead over 1260 wards in eight mandals of Adilabad district that goes for polling in the first phase on December 11.
As many as 425 candidates remain in the fray for the 112 posts of sarpanches and 2294 candidates for the 834 ward member posts in the second phase of the elections in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.
Some 672 candidates are in the fray for the 156 posts of sarpanches and 2540 candidates for 1260 wards in Adilabad district.
Some 336 candidates remain in the fray for 114 posts of sarpanches and 2059 candidates for 996 wards in Mancherial district in the second phase of the polling on Dec 14.
