AP local body polls: MPTC, ZPTC voting on November 3; coalition set for walkovers in several towns

The rural round of the AP local body polls formally began on Monday, 19 October, when State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha notified polls to mandal and zilla parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs and ZPTCs). Voting is fixed for November 3, and ballots will be counted on November 5.

Polling will be held for 659 ZPTC seats and 9,829 MPTC seats in 659 of the state’s 663 mandals. The State Election Commission will set up 35,333 polling stations, 9,186 of them classified as highly sensitive. A candidate for an MPTC seat may spend up to Rs 4 lakh, and a ZPTC contestant up to Rs 8 lakh.

The AP local body polls calendar

Municipalities and corporations: nominations closed on Sunday, 18 October, and scrutiny took place on 19 October. Candidates have until October 21 to withdraw. Polling in 100 urban local bodies is on October 28, with results on October 30.

MPTCs and ZPTCs: nominations from October 21 to 23, scrutiny on October 24, withdrawals until October 27, polling on November 3 and counting on November 5.

Gram panchayats: three phases, on November 26, November 29 and December 2. Each phase will be counted the same day.

Uncontested chairs likely

The ruling coalition is set to win several municipal chairperson posts without a contest after the YSRCP failed to file nominations for them. These are in the Darsi, Piduguralla, Yerraguntla, Rayachoti and Punganur municipalities and in the Gurazala and Kamalapuram nagar panchayats. None of these outcomes is final until the withdrawal deadline passes on October 21.

Mydukur poll put off

Mydukur in YSR Kadapa district had also been expected to go to the coalition unopposed, but its municipal election has now been deferred. Punetha said the decision followed a report from the District Collector that nomination papers had been torn up, which made scrutiny difficult. He said a fresh notification for the town would be issued.

Security review

On 19 October, Punetha reviewed arrangements with Chief Secretary G Sai Prasad and Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta. He told officials to make sure the polls were held “peacefully, freely and impartially”, that candidates could file papers without hindrance and that voters could cast ballots without fear. He also asked them to act firmly against anyone breaking election rules.

The DGP said preventive measures were in place because of incidents reported in some districts during the nomination process, and that more police would be sent to sensitive areas where needed. At a press conference, Punetha was asked about violence during filing and said action would follow once collectors had submitted full reports. Panchayat Raj Secretary Krishna Teja said nomination counters for the parishad polls would be webcast to collectors, police superintendents and the commission.

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