Hyderabad: The Telangana State Election Commission on Tuesday announced the schedule for the conduct of much-awaited elections to the urban local bodies, including municipalities and municipal corporations in the state on February 11.
Speaking to reporters, state election commissioner Rani Kumudini said the elections will be conducted for 116 municipalities with 2582 wards across 32 districts; and seven municipal corporations – Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Ramagundam with 414 wards, in seven districts in a single phase.
She said the process of receiving nominations will begin on January 28, and candidates will have until January 30 to file their nomination papers. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on January 31, while the final date for withdrawal of nominations has been fixed as February 3.
“Polling for all municipal bodies will be held on February 11, with repolling, if required, scheduled for February 12. The counting of votes will take place on February 13, and the election of municipal chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, mayors, and deputy mayors will be conducted on February 16,” the SEC said.
In all, nearly 5.3 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in this crucial local body elections in the municipalities and corporations.
“In order to ensure smooth conduct of polling, the authorities have set up 8,203 polling stations across the state. Additionally, 136 counting centres have been arranged for vote tabulation,” she said.
Kumudini announced that with the issuance of the election schedule for the municipal elections, the Model Code of Conduct has come into immediate effect throughout Telangana. She warned that strict action will be taken against anyone found violating the code.
She asked the police and enforcement agencies to intensify checks and surveillance at various locations to prevent any irregularities during the election period.
