Hyderabad, Nov 25 (PTI) The Telangana State Election Commission on Tuesday announced a three-phased schedule for gram panchayat elections in the state, to be held on December 11, 14, and 17.
Following the recent bypoll to the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency, the elections are seen as a test of popularity for major parties—ruling Congress, BJP, and BRS—even though the polls are conducted on a non-party basis.
State Election Commissioner I Rani Kumudini told reporters that elections will be held for 12,728 Sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 ward offices.
Over 1.66 crore voters, including 81,42,231 male and 85,12,455 female electors, are eligible to vote. Polling will be conducted using ballot boxes and ballot papers, a statement said.
The notice for the first round of elections will be issued on November 27, with nominations closing on November 29.
Scrutiny of nominations will take place on November 30, and the last date for withdrawal is December 3. Polling will be held from 7 am to 1 pm on December 11, with counting of votes beginning at 2 pm and results declared after counting is complete.
The notice for the second round of elections will be issued on November 30, with nominations closing on December 2.
Scrutiny will be conducted on December 3, and the last date for withdrawal is December 6. Polling will conclude at 1 pm on December 14, followed by counting and declaration of results.
For the third round, the election notice will be issued on December 3, with nominations closing on December 5.
Scrutiny will take place on December 6, and withdrawals must be completed by December 9.
Counting of votes will begin after polling ends on December 17, with results announced upon completion of counting.
Earlier, on September 29, the State Election Commission had announced a five-phase schedule for rural local body elections. However, on October 9, the Telangana High Court issued an interim stay against a government order providing 42 per cent BC reservation in local bodies.
Following the court’s stay, the Election Commission suspended the September 29 poll notification and related activities.
With the legal hurdles surrounding the BC reservation, the Telangana government, on November 17, decided to conduct elections only for gram panchayats, deferring polls for other rural local bodies, including Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members. PTI SJR SSK
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