Andhra Pradesh HC gives nod to conduct panchayat polls

The gram panchayat election will be held in four phases beginning February 5.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the state government to hold gram panchayat elections in the state as per the schedule announced by State Election Commissioner.

The court was considering the writ petition filed by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar.

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Earlier, the single judge suspended the election notification issued by SEC after the state government said it is not possible to conduct elections amid coronavirus vaccination drive.

The gram panchayat election will be held in four phases beginning February 5.

The SEC will issue the election notification on January 23 for Phase-I, January 27 for Phase-II, January 31 for Phase-III and February 4 for Phase-IV.

The last date for nominations is January 27, 31, February 4 and 8 respectively. Polling where will be held on February 5, 9, 13 and 17. Voting will take place from 6.30 am to till 3.30 pm.

Counting of votes will also be done over four phases.