Election schedule for rural local bodies in Telangana released, polling in 31 districts

Telangana’s State Election Commission announced the schedule for rural local body elections, with polling in 31 districts from October 9. Over 1.67 crore voters will elect representatives to MPTCs, ZPTCs, and Gram Panchayats under strict Model Code of Conduct guidelines.

Hyderabad: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday released the schedule for the second ordinary elections to rural local bodies, setting the stage for polling across Telangana.

The SEC announced that the election notification will be issued on October 9. Polling will be held in all 31 districts covering 565 mandals, with elections to 5,749 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and 565 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs).

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The Commission said ballot boxes and papers will be used for polling, with ballot boxes borrowed from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. A total of 1.67 crore rural voters, including 81.65 lakh men, 85.36 lakh women and 504 others, are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Meetings with senior State officials, including the Chief Secretary, DGP, and heads of key departments, were held to finalise arrangements. All officers assured the SEC of their readiness to conduct elections as per the schedule.

As per High Court directions, the SEC sought a 45-day extension to complete the process, with concurrence from the State government. The Commission has since issued comprehensive guidelines on reservations for Mandals, Zilla Praja Parishads and Gram Panchayats.

Polling will be conducted in 31,300 MPTC polling stations and 15,302 MPTC/ZPTC locations. For Gram Panchayats, 12,733 GPs and 1,12,288 wards will go to the polls with 15,522 polling locations being set up.

The SEC appealed to voters and candidates to strictly follow the Model Code of Conduct, urging all to cast their votes freely and fairly. It also appealed to the media to encourage public participation to ensure peaceful and successful conduct of elections.