395 Sarpanchs Elected Unopposed, 3,800+ Panchayats Head to Polls in First Phase

Telangana’s gram panchayat elections are set to enter the crucial polling phase after completion of nominations, scrutiny and withdrawals for all three phases. Polling will be conducted in three rounds on December 11, 14 and 17, covering thousands of villages across the state in the first full-scale rural local body elections under the Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. The exercise will decide over 12,700 sarpanch posts and more than 1.12 lakh ward member positions, making it one of the largest grassroots democratic processes in Telangana.

Three-phase election schedule

The Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has scheduled gram panchayat polling in three phases across all districts to ensure smooth conduct and adequate deployment of staff and security forces. Voting on all three days will be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and counting of votes will take place on the same afternoons from 2 p.m. onwards, with results being declared at the mandal and district levels as soon as counting concludes.

In Phase 1, elections were notified for 4,236 gram panchayats, while the remaining panchayats have been distributed between the second and third phases based on administrative convenience and logistics. The entire process is being conducted under the Model Code of Conduct, and the SEC has issued detailed guidelines to district collectors, returning officers and other field staff regarding polling station arrangements, transportation of material and training of polling personnel.

Nomination, scrutiny and withdrawals

With the close of the nomination process for all three phases, the election machinery has moved through key preparatory stages such as scrutiny of papers and withdrawal of candidature. For each phase, candidates were given specific windows to file nomination papers, after which returning officers scrutinised the documents to check eligibility, reservation status and completeness, in line with TSEC norms and panchayat law.

Following scrutiny, candidates were allowed time to voluntarily withdraw their nominations, leading to final lists of contesting candidates being published for every gram panchayat and ward. Only after these steps are completed does the ballot get finalised, with symbols allotted and polling arrangements tailored to the number of candidates and expected voter turnout in each booth.

Unanimous gram panchayats

One notable aspect of the current panchayat elections is the significant number of unanimous results, especially in the first phase. In Phase 1, the SEC has recorded 395 sarpanchs and around 9,331 ward members declared elected unopposed after withdrawals, out of the 4,236 gram panchayats notified. This effectively means that around 400 gram panchayats saw sarpanch or multiple ward positions filled without polling, leaving about 3,836 panchayats to go for voting in the first phase.

Similar unanimous outcomes are being reported in other districts for subsequent phases as well, where consensus candidatures and withdrawals have resulted in direct declarations of sarpanchs and ward members. The SEC finalises such results only after the last date of withdrawal for each phase, and these panchayats are then excluded from the polling schedule, reducing the load on polling staff and security forces on election days.

Polling arrangements and voter participation

For the remaining contested seats, elaborate polling arrangements are being made across rural Telangana. District administrations are setting up polling stations in schools, community halls and other public buildings, ensuring basic facilities such as drinking water, shade and queues to handle voters through the polling window of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Security deployment includes local police and, where needed, additional forces to maintain order, prevent violations of the Model Code of Conduct and ensure free movement of voters.

For the state government, successful completion of the three-phase gram panchayat elections by mid-December also ensures compliance with court directions on timely local body polls and helps maintain the flow of certain tied and untied grants linked to the presence of elected rural bodies. As polling begins from December 11 and concludes with counting on the same days, Telangana’s villages are poised to get a new set of grassroots representatives to steer local governance for the coming years.