Telangana poll body geared up to conduct local body elections
To issue notification immediately after getting govt nod
Hyderabad:The state election commission is set to shortly issue a notification for conduct of local body elections, towards which it is making the required arrangements. Sources said that the poll body is ready to conduct elections as soon as it gets the government's nod.
The commission’s officials have conducted a review meeting to take stock of the electoral issues, infrastructure and other essentials.
Meanwhile, the Forum for Good Governance representatives on Wednesday submitted a representation to the election body commissioner Rani Kumudini seeking a look into the village development committees amid reports of auction of sarpanch posts and to prevent such incidents.
In the representation, the forum’s former president M. Padmanabha Reddy said that the Supreme Court introduced the NOTA (none of the above) option to increase voter participation. Its intent was to ensure that voters who did not prefer any candidate could still cast their vote. However, regardless of the number of votes NOTA receives, it currently does not impact election results.
In states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi, their respective election commissions have strengthened the role of NOTA in local body elections by recognising it as a “fictitious candidate”.
As a result, if the NOTA category secures the highest number of votes, elections must be conducted again. “In many districts of Telangana, village development committees are auctioning sarpanch positions. If NOTA is considered a fictitious candidate, elections must be held in all cases, leaving no room for uncontested selections," Reddy said.
