AP panchayat polls: nominations open 15 November for 3,967 sarpanch posts in phase one

Andhra Pradesh’s village elections formally got under way on Friday, 13 November, when the State Election Commission notified the first phase of the AP panchayat polls. Notification No.1800/SEC-B2/2026, signed by State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha, calls on voters in the listed mandals to elect their sarpanches and ward members.

The first round covers 3,967 sarpanch posts and 40,012 ward member posts in 26 districts, the commission’s district-wise figures show. Tirupati has the largest share, with 404 sarpanch and 3,684 ward member posts. Guntur and Visakhapatnam have no seats in this phase.

Nomination window shuts on 17 November

Returning officers issue the election notice on Sunday, 15 November, and put up ward-wise voter lists the same day. Papers are accepted between 10.30 am and 5 pm each day until Tuesday, 17 November. Scrutiny starts at 8 am on Wednesday, 18 November.

A candidate whose papers are rejected can appeal to the Revenue Divisional Officer until 5 pm on Thursday, 19 November, and appeals are decided on Friday, 20 November. Withdrawals close at 3 pm on Saturday, 21 November, and the final list of contestants is published after that hour. Collectors have been told not to issue a notice for any panchayat or post where a court has stayed the election, or where legal or administrative hurdles rule it out.

Where a contest remains, polling on Thursday, 26 November, runs from 7 am to 1 pm. Counting begins at 2 pm and results are declared as soon as it ends. The upa-sarpanch is elected the same day, or on the next day if that vote cannot be held. Any repoll is fixed for Friday, 27 November, between 7 am and 1 pm.

Deposits and spending limits

A sarpanch candidate pays a deposit of Rs 3,000, and a ward member candidate Rs 1,000. SC, ST and BC candidates pay half: Rs 1,500 and Rs 500. Spending caps depend on a panchayat’s population in the 2011 Census. Below 10,000 people, a sarpanch candidate may spend up to Rs 2.5 lakh and a ward member Rs 60,000; in bigger panchayats the limits rise to Rs 4 lakh and Rs 1 lakh.

Statewide, 2,61,52,377 voters will choose 13,167 sarpanches and 1,32,514 ward members. Of the sarpanch posts, 6,445 are reserved for women in all categories; 1,180 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, 2,466 for Scheduled Castes and 3,105 for Backward Classes.

Two more phases follow. The second, with 4,960 sarpanch and 49,224 ward member posts, is notified on Monday, 16 November and votes on Sunday, 29 November. The third, covering 4,240 sarpanch and 42,626 ward member posts, is notified on Thursday, 19 November and goes to the polls on Wednesday, 2 December.