Andhra Pradesh moves into the next round of its local body elections today, with nominations opening for the first phase of gram panchayat polls across the state. The rural elections will cover 13,167 gram panchayats in three phases, and the State Election Commission has put a fresh incentive on the table: villages that elect their sarpanch and all ward members unanimously can receive between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.
Nominations for the first phase open today, Sunday, November 15, and close on November 17. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 21. Polling for the first phase is scheduled for November 26, with counting on the same day.
Three phases, 13,167 panchayats
The panchayat elections will be held in three phases. The first phase covers 3,967 gram panchayats, with polling on November 26. The second phase covers 4,960 panchayats, with polling on November 29, and the third phase covers 4,240 panchayats, with polling on December 2.
Unlike the urban body polls, the gram panchayat elections will be fought without party symbols. Candidates will contest on a non-party basis, which the commission says keeps the focus on local issues rather than party politics. Polling in the first phase will conclude by noon, and counting will begin the same day.
The incentive scheme is aimed at encouraging consensus in villages. State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha said the government has issued orders offering Rs 15 lakh to panchayats with populations between 2,000 and 5,000, with larger amounts for bigger villages, up to Rs 50 lakh. The incentive applies only when the sarpanch and every ward member are elected unanimously.
Security push after a violent nomination phase
The commission is taking no chances on law and order. On Saturday, Punetha held a high-level review meeting in Tirupati with district collectors, police officials and election observers, and directed them to ensure that every candidate can file nominations without obstruction and every voter can vote without fear.
The caution follows a bruising run-up to the urban body polls, when nomination centres in several districts saw clashes and torn nomination papers. The Supreme Court had to step in during October, and the commission reopened nominations in some wards before polling went ahead on November 1.
District collectorates have now been designated as additional nomination centres, so candidates who face trouble at regular centres can file at the collectorate instead. The commission has also ordered strict surveillance, CCTV coverage and close coordination between collectors and police at every stage, from filing to counting.
Complaints have already started coming in. Kadapa district has recorded the highest number so far at 278, followed by Tirupati with 136 and Annamayya with 132, according to officials at the Tirupati review meeting.
What is left of the urban polls
The panchayat schedule runs alongside the unfinished part of the urban elections. Nominations are also open from November 14 to 16 for the remaining 23 urban local bodies, four municipal corporations and 19 municipalities and nagar panchayats, whose elections were held up by legal hurdles. Scrutiny of those nominations will take place on November 17, withdrawals close on November 19, polling is set for November 26 and counting on November 30.
Among them are the first-ever elections to the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation, along with Bapatla, Narasaraopet and Ponnuru municipalities. Elections to the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli corporation had been delayed for a long time because of court cases over the merger of neighbouring villages.
Meanwhile, the newly elected urban bodies will take oath and constitute their councils on November 23, the same day elections for deputy mayors in 13 corporations and vice-chairpersons in 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats are scheduled.
The backdrop: a sweeping NDA win in the cities
The panchayat polls come days after the ruling NDA alliance swept the first phase of the urban local body elections. Of the 3,915 wards declared out of 3,942, the Telugu Desam Party won more than 2,580, the Jana Sena Party close to 490 and the BJP around 150. The alliance also breached the YSR Congress Party stronghold of Pulivendula, winning 20 of its 40 municipal wards uncontested.
The YSRCP has rejected the outcome and alleged rigging, booth capturing and bogus voting, claims the TDP has dismissed. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had set November 15 as the deadline to complete the local body election process, and the panchayat nominations opening today keep that timetable on track.
Whether the NDA sweep in the towns repeats in the villages will be the big question of the next three weeks. With no party symbols on the ballot, the panchayat results will be read less as a party verdict and more as a test of local leadership, and of whether the commission can deliver a clean election after a nomination phase that drew the Supreme Court’s attention.
FAQs
When do nominations open for the Andhra Pradesh gram panchayat elections?
Nominations for the first phase open on Sunday, November 15, and close on November 17. Candidates can withdraw until November 21.
How many gram panchayats will vote, and when?
A total of 13,167 gram panchayats will vote in three phases: 3,967 on November 26, 4,960 on November 29 and 4,240 on December 2.
What is the incentive for unanimous panchayats?
Villages that elect their sarpanch and all ward members unanimously can receive Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, depending on the panchayat’s population.
Will party symbols be used in the panchayat polls?
No. The gram panchayat elections will be held without political party symbols.
What about the remaining urban local body elections?
Nominations for the remaining 23 urban local bodies run from November 14 to 16, with polling on November 26 and counting on November 30.
The next three weeks will decide who runs Andhra Pradesh’s villages for the next five years. For now, the nomination counters open today, and the commission’s message is clear: file freely, vote freely, and let the villages choose.
