Hyderabad, Jan 27 (PTI) The Telangana State Election Commission on Tuesday announced a single-phase schedule for municipal elections in the state to be held on February 11 for seven municipal corporations and 116 municipalities.
After the Gram Panchayat elections held in December last year, the urban polls are seen as another a test of popularity for the ruling Congress, opposition BJP and BRS.
As per the schedule, the election notice will be issued on January 28 and nominations would be accepted from the same day, State Election Commissioner I Rani Kumudini told reporters here.
The last date for filing nominations is January 31.
After scrutiny and withdrawals, the final list of contesting candidates would be announced on February 3.
Polling will be held on February 11 and counting of votes would be taken up on February 13. The results will be declared soon after the counting process is completed, she said.
“This is the schedule for direct elections to all the 2,996 wards covering 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations,” she said.
The registered voters are 52.43 lakh — 25.62 lakh male voters and 26.8 lakh female voters and others are 640.
Kumudini appealed to the voters to exercise their franchise on the poll day without fail.
She said 8,203 polling stations would be set up. 16,031 ballot boxes would be used for the poll.
The oath of office for all ward members would be administered on February 16.
The indirect election to the offices of chairperson and and vice chairperson of 116 municipalities and mayor and deputy mayor of seven municipal corporations would be held the same day.
The reservations declared earlier for the ward offices is–BC (Gen)- 463, BC (women) – 391, SC (Gen)- 254, SC (women) – 190, ST (General) 147, ST (women)-40 and Unreserved (Gen) – 647 and Unreserved (women) – 864.
Additional DGP (law and order) Mahesh Bhagwat said the Model Code of Conduct for the municipal elections comes into force immediately and flying squads would conduct checks.
Those carrying more than Rs 50,000 in cash in the poll-bound areas will have to answer to the security personnel, he said.
Police personnel would conduct flag-march in sensitive and hyper-sensitive locations as a confidence building exercise, he said.
Kumudini also said 100 per cent web casting would be made during the poll.
The Telangana Cabinet on January 18 decided to conduct elections to the municipalities and corporations as early as possible.
Gram panchayat elections were conducted in Telangana in December last year.
While the ruling Congress continued its dominance in rural polls, the opposition BRS came up with a decent show and the BJP too made some impressive gains.
Expressing confidence that the Congress would achieve splendid results in the municipal polls, party MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said winnability should be the criteria in the distribution of tickets, instead of family relationship or loyalty to senior leaders in municipalities. This will make the BRS bite the dust in the elections, he added.
Telangana BJP’s Mahila Morcha held a preparatory meeting for the urban polls. Besides BJP state president N Ramchander Rao, the party’s incharges for the polls Ashok Parnami and Rajya Sabha member Rekha Sharma attended the meeting. PTI GDK VVK SJR SJR SA
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