The stage is all set for the conduct of elections to over 12,700 gram panchayats (GPs) spread across the State.
Telangana State Election Commissioner V. Nagi Reddy released the schedule for the elections to the GPs in three phases, in which close to 1.49 crore voters will exercise their franchise. Of the 12,751 GPs in the State, elections are being held to 12,732 panchayats while the term of 17 panchayats is yet to expire. Polls to two GPs could not be held because of court cases.
In all, 4,480 panchayats will go to polls in the first phase of election to be held on January 21 and elections will be held in 4,137 GPs in the second phase on January 25. The third phase of elections will be held in 4,115 panchayats on January 30. The total number of wards where elections will be held is 1,13,170. The notice for the January 21 polls will be released by the returning officers concerned on January 7. The notice for January 25 polls will be released on January 11 and for January 30 polls on January 16.
The election authority had set up 1.13 lakh polling stations and the election would be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the three days. Counting of votes would be taken up on the same afternoon so that results could be declared by evening. Over 1.48 lakh officials had been drafted for election duties in addition to 26,340 personnel on security duties.
Mr. Nagi Reddy said the voters’ list prepared in May this year had 1.37 crore electors, but names of over 16 lakh voters had been added and another 4.52 lakh names deleted in the revision of electors list, taking the total addition to 12.34 lakh. New voters who attained the age of 18 on January 1, 2018 had been included in the voters’ lists during the subsequent revision.
The election will be conducted through ballot papers and the election authority had printed 3.36 crore ballot papers for the three-phase election. Steps had been taken to appoint 26 general and 39 expenditure observers and the model code of conduct had come into force with immediate effect. Election expenditure for GPs with more than 5,000 population had been fixed at ₹ 2.5 lakh and it would be ₹1.5 lakh in respect of those with less than 5,000 population.