Andhra Pradesh Gears Up for Local Body Elections

Andhra Pradesh is preparing for a fresh round of local body elections, with the State Election Commission (SEC) reportedly completing arrangements to release the election schedule on Wednesday, October 14. The municipal election notification is also expected to be issued on the same day. Once the notification is released, the Model Code of Conduct will come into force across the state. The government is expected to issue a gazette notification on reservations for local body seats on Tuesday and submit the details to the SEC.

As part of the preparations, the State Election Commissioner is scheduled to hold a meeting with representatives of 20 recognised political parties at 11:30 AM on Tuesday. Separate notifications will be issued for gram panchayats, municipal bodies and MPTC–ZPTC elections. Panchayat elections are planned in three phases and are expected to conclude within 14 days of notification. Municipalities, corporations and nagar panchayats are set to go to polls in a single phase, with the process expected to finish within 15 days. MPTC and ZPTC elections are planned in two phases and are expected to conclude within 16 days. Panchayat elections will be conducted on a non-party basis, while municipal and parishad elections will be held using party symbols. Officials have reportedly prepared 1,05,432 ballot boxes for the elections.