Telangana EC rolls out schedule for local bodies in 3 phases

The Telangana State Election Commission has officially announced the schedule for the upcoming village panchayat elections. The polls will be conducted in three phases on December 11, 14, and 17. Following the recent Jubilee Hills by-election, these elections are being viewed as a key test of political popularity for the major parties, even though panchayat polls are officially non-party contests.

According to State Election Commissioner I. Rani Kumudini, elections will be held for 12,728 sarpanch positions and 1,12,242 ward member seats across the state. More than 1.66 crore voters are eligible to participate, with 81.4 lakh men and 85.1 lakh women. Voting will be conducted entirely through ballot papers and ballot boxes.

The Election Commission has also announced that the election code of conduct comes into effect immediately. Results for each phase will be declared on the same day as polling.

First Phase:

Nominations will open on November 27 and close on November 29 , with scrutiny on November 30. The last date for withdrawals is December 3 , 3 PM, and candidate lists will be announced the same day. Polling will take place on December 11 , from 7 AM to 1 PM.

Second Phase:

Nominations open November 30 to December 2 , scrutiny on December 3, withdrawals by December 6 , and candidate lists announced the same day. Polling will occur on December 14 .

Third Phase:

Nominations open December 3 to 5 , scrutiny on December 6 , withdrawals by December 9 , and candidate lists published the same day. Polling will be held on December 17 .

Election of Deputy Sarpanches:

Deputy sarpanches will be elected on the same day as the sarpanch results. If this is not possible, elections will be conducted the following day.

Earlier, the Election Commission had announced a five-phase schedule on September 29. However, a High Court order on October 9 halted the implementation of the government’s 42% BC reservation in local bodies, effectively putting the schedule on hold. Legal complications led the state government to restrict elections to only panchayats on November 17 , postponing ZPTC and MPTC elections to a later date.

The last panchayat elections were held in 2019, and although the sarpanch terms were set to end in 2024, the government extended them temporarily. During this period, village administration continued under the supervision of panchayat secretaries.