SEC Suspends Election Schedule After HC Order

Hyderabad: Following the Telangana High Court order staying the local body elections over the 42 per cent BC reservation, the State Election Commission on Thursday issued orders to suspend the election schedule for the Zilla Parishad Territory Constituency (ZPTC) and Mandal Parishad Territory Constituency (MPTCs) till next notification.

Earlier in the day, the SEC had issued the notification and directed district electoral officers and collectors to begin accepting nominations at all returning offices in Mandal headquarters. However, by evening, the High Court granted a stay on the notification for the local body elections.

Before the stay was issued, the Commission had received a total of 16 nominations for Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and 103 nominations for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) for the first phase of polls in Telangana. The nominations were accepted between 10 am and 5 pm.

Of the ZPTC nominations, Congress candidates filed 10, the CPM two, recognised parties from other states and registered political parties with the TGSEC one, and three were independents. In Siddipet, seven Congress candidates filed nominations for ZPTCs, while CPM candidates submitted nominations in Karimnagar and Rajanna-Sircilla districts.

For the MPTCs, a total of 103 nominations were received across the state. Of these, 60 were filed by Congress candidates, 18 by those from the BRS, and 12 by independents. Among the districts, Bhadradri-Kothagudem accounted for 17 nominations, Komaram Bheem Asifabad nine, Nizamabad and Ranga Reddy eight each, and Khammam, Mahabubabad, Narayanpet, and Nirmal five each.

Nominations

Bhadradri Kothagudem -- 17 (MPTCs)

Komarm Bheem Asifabad -- 9 MPTCs

Ranga Reddy- 8 (MPTCs)

Nirmal, Mahbubabad, Khammam, Narayanpet -- each five (MPTCs)

Siddipet -- seven (ZPTCs)

Rajanna Sircilla -- two (ZPTCs)

One each in Hanumakonda, Karimnagar, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mahabubabad and others.