Hyderabad: The stage is set for the first phase of gram panchayat elections in Telangana on Thursday. State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini said that all arrangements have been made for peaceful and free and fair elections.
More than 56 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes for 3,800 gram panchayats and 37,440 wards spread over 189 mandals. The polling will be held from 7 a.m.
The counting of votes will be taken up immediately after the polling. A total of 56,19,430 candidates are eligible to cast their votes. The poll panel has set up 37,562 polling stations.
She said 12,960 candidates are in the fray for the offices of sarpanches while 65,455 candidates are contesting for the offices of ward members. Sarpanches for 395 gram panchayats have been elected unanimously.
A holiday has been declared in areas where elections are being held to enable voters to cast their votes.
Over one lakh polling staff will be on duty. The State Election Commission has provided training to the election staff. The polling officers have collected the election material from the reception centres.
In over 3,000 Gram Panchayats, direct webcasting will be arranged to ensure real-time monitoring of the polling process. More than 50,000 police personnel have been deployed.
Personnel from Civil Police, Armed Reserve, Telangana State Special Police (TGSP), and staff deputed from other departments such as Forest and Excise have been mobilised to ensure smooth conduct of the elections.
Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said since the counting of votes will take place immediately after the polling, adequate security has also been arranged at all counting centres.
So far, enforcement teams have seized cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and other inducements worth Rs 8.20 crore during the ongoing election process.
A total of 229 FIRs have been registered for violations of the Model Code of Conduct. Police have also executed 1,053 Non-Bailable Warrants, including both recalled and freshly executed warrants.
All licensed firearms belonging to individuals under the purview of election security norms have been deposited as per instructions. To further strengthen monitoring, 54 inter-state border check posts have been set up along Telangana’s borders with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
These check posts are functioning round-the-clock to prevent the illegal movement of cash, liquor, weapons, and other materials, the DGP said.
In addition, 537 flying squad teams and 155 static surveillance teams are actively working across the state to ensure strict adherence to election guidelines and to maintain a peaceful polling environment.
The Prohibition and Excise Department has ordered closure of liquor shops in the mandals going to polls. The department has directed that all wine shops, bars, and restaurants serving liquor must be closed till the completion of counting.
As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17 for 12,728 posts of sarpanchs and 1,12,242 wards. A total 1.66 crore votes in rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.
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