Adilabad gears up for local body polls in over 2000 civic bodies

Preparations are in full swing for elections to 2,181 rural civic bodies across Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, and Asifabad districts, following a 1.5-year delay. The Congress, BRS, and BJP are in the fray to secure dominance in local governance.

Adilabad: Preparations are under way for the smooth conduct of elections to 2,181 rural civic bodies in the erstwhile Adilabad district.

The tenure of local body representatives ended in February 2024, and with the State Cabinet approving conduct of the polls by September 30, decks have been cleared for elections that had been pending for nearly one-and-a-half years.

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Officials, anticipating the polls, have already printed ballot papers and procured ballot boxes. Election staff have been identified, assigned duties, and trained at Hyderabad and district headquarters. Polling stations have been mapped out, with each to accommodate up to 650 voters. The final number of polling stations will be confirmed shortly.

As per the draft rolls published recently, Adilabad has 4,49,979 voters, Mancherial 3,76,669, Nirmal 4,49,302, and Kumram Bheem Asifabad 3,53,904.

Elections will be held for 473 Gram Panchayats (GPs), 20 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and 186 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) in Adilabad. In Mancherial, 305 GPs, 16 ZPTCs and 129 MPTCs will go to polls, while Nirmal has 400 GPs, 18 ZPTCs and 157 MPTCs, and Asifabad 335 GPs, 15 ZPTCs and 127 MPTCs.

Meanwhile, political activity is gaining momentum in villages. Aspirants are using the Ganesh Chaturthi festival to reach out to electors, reportedly sponsoring idols and offering food to devotees as part of their outreach.

Parties have also begun the process of finalising candidates. The Congress is determined to sustain its winning run, while the BRS aims for a comeback, and the BJP is hoping to strengthen its presence by securing more local bodies than in the past.