Second Phase Gram Panchayat Polls in Nizamabad Record 76.71 per Cent

Nizamabad: The second phase of polling for the gram panchayat elections in Nizamabad district was conducted peacefully on Sunday amid tight security arrangements. Voters queued up at polling stations from the early hours to exercise their franchise.

Polling began with a modest turnout of 20.49 per cent in the morning and steadily picked up pace, with officials later announcing an overall turnout of 76.71 per cent.

District election officer and collector T. Vinay Krishna Reddy visited polling stations at Mopal mandal headquarters, Mullangi village in Dichpally mandal and the Government High School at Dharmaram. He reviewed polling arrangements, checked the availability of help desks and medical camps, and observed facilities provided for elderly and differently abled voters, including the use of wheelchairs.

Under the collector’s supervision, elections to the posts of sarpanch and ward members were conducted smoothly in gram panchayats falling under Dharpally, Dichpally, Indalwai, Makloor, Mopkal, Nizamabad, Sirkonda and Jakranpally mandal in the Armur division.

The collector said that in the second phase, out of 196 sarpanch posts, 38 were unanimously elected at the nomination stage, while polling was held for the remaining 158 posts. Of the 1,760 ward member posts, nominations were not filed for five posts, 674 members were elected unanimously, and polling was conducted for 1,081 posts.

Polling was held across 1,476 polling stations and remained peaceful throughout the day. Being a Sunday, voter participation was high. Polling was relatively slow during the first two hours due to cold weather, but gained momentum later, with turnout reaching 49.13 per cent by 11 a.m.

The collector said extensive awareness programmes were conducted across gram panchayat areas ahead of polling. Photo voter slips were distributed door to door and help desks staffed by booth-level officers were set up at polling stations to assist voters, which significantly contributed to the increased turnout.

Additional police forces were deployed at sensitive polling stations, webcasting arrangements were made, and micro-observers closely monitored the polling process. Polling activity and local conditions were continuously monitored from the collectorate. The collector directed officials to ensure that vote counting is carried out carefully without scope for errors.

General election observer Shyamprasad Lal also inspected several polling stations at Mopal, Makloor, Gundaram, Ghanpur in Dichpally mandal, Gannaram in Indalwai mandal, Dharpally and Sirkonda. Police Commissioner Sai Chaitanya supervised security arrangements at polling stations.

Nizamabad | Gram Panchayat Elections – Phase 2

Total polling stations: 1,476

Overall voter turnout: 76.71%

Turnout by 11 a.m.: 49.13%

Sarpanch posts

Total: 196

Unanimously elected: 38

Contested: 158

Ward member posts

Total: 1,760

Unfilled (no nominations): 5

Unanimously elected: 674

Contested: 1,081