SEC Set To Notify Local Bodies Election Today
Nominations for first phase of MPTC, ZPTC elections will begin on Oct. 9
Hyderabad: The Telangana Election Commission (TGSEC) will issue the notification for the first phase of Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) elections at 10.30 am on Thursday, marking the formal commencement of the nomination process.
The TGEC decided to proceed with the local body elections as scheduled after the Telangana High Court declined to stay the election process during its Wednesday hearing on the 42 per cent BC reservation issue.
Elections to ZPTCs and MPTCs, which will be contested on party symbols, are scheduled to be held in two phases on October 23 and 27, while elections for Gram Panchayat posts will be held in three phases on October 30, November 4, and November 8.
Soon after the High Court hearing, state election commissioner I. Rani Kumudini held a video conference with district collectors and superintendents of police to review poll readiness across 31 districts.
Officials assured the Commission that all arrangements were in place to ensure free and fair elections. The state election commissioner directed the collectors and SPs to begin receiving nominations from Thursday as planned for the first phase.
The local body elections will cover 31 districts and 565 mandals, involving 565 ZPTC and 5,749 MPTC positions. There will be 31,300 polling stations for MPTCs and ZPTCs, spread across 15,302 locations. At the Gram Panchayat level, 12,733 panchayats, 1,12,288 wards, and 1,12,474 polling stations have been identified across 15,522 locations.
According to the TGEC, nominations for the first phase of MPTC and ZPTC elections will be accepted from October 9 between 10.30 am and 5 pm and the last date for filing nominations is October 11. Scrutiny will take place on October 12 and withdrawals are allowed until 3 pm on October 15, after which the list of contesting candidates will be published.
Polling will be held on October 23 from 7 am to 5 pm, and counting of votes will take place on November 11, with results to be declared immediately after counting concludes.
