Telangana Set for First Phase of Gram Panchayat Polls on December 11

Telangana will go to the polls on Thursday for the first phase of gram panchayat elections, where over 56 lakh voters will decide the fate of nearly 13,000 sarpanch candidates across 3,834 gram panchayats.

State Election Commissioner I Rani Kumudini said on Wednesday that 65,455 candidates are contesting for 27,628 ward seats in this phase. Elections in 396 gram panchayats have already been completed unanimously.

A government release stated that webcasting will be deployed in more than 3,000 gram panchayats to ensure real-time monitoring of the polling process. Extensive security arrangements have been made, with all polling stations categorised as critical or normal and police deployment planned according to sensitivity and vulnerability. Counting centres will also have tight security, and counting will begin immediately after polling concludes.

Enforcement agencies have seized ₹8.20 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other inducements since the election process began. A total of 229 FIRs have been registered for Model Code of Conduct violations.

To curb the illegal movement of cash, liquor and weapons, 54 inter-state border check posts have been established along Telangana’s borders with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. These check posts are functioning round-the-clock.

The Telangana State Election Commission had on November 25 announced a three-phase schedule for gram panchayat elections, to be held on December 11, 14 and 17. Coming soon after the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll, the elections are being viewed as a test of ground-level support for major political parties—the ruling Congress, BJP and BRS—even though the panchayat polls are officially conducted on a non-party basis.

Polling in the first phase will take place from 7 am to 1 pm, with counting starting at 2 pm and results expected shortly thereafter.

Due to ongoing legal challenges to the state government’s proposal to provide 42% reservation for Backward Classes in local bodies, the government on November 17 decided to conduct polls only for gram panchayats, while deferring elections for other rural local bodies, including Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members.