Andhra Pradesh Announces Local Body Election Schedule

Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha announced the election schedule for local bodies across the State, bringing the Model Code of Conduct into force. The code prohibits the government from launching new welfare schemes and development projects until the process ends. The full election schedule is set to finish by December 2, with the announcement made alongside Director of Municipal Administration P. Sampath Kumar and APSEC Secretary A. Mallikarjuna.

Urban Polls

The election notification covers 100 urban local bodies out of a total of 123, which includes 13 Municipal Corporations and 87 Municipalities or Nagar Panchayats. The 13 corporations are Greater Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Vizianagaram, Eluru, Machilipatnam, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, and Anantapuram. Poll notifications for the remaining 23 urban local bodies will be released later. Election officers will publish notices on October 16, and nominations will be filed by October 18. Nominations will be checked on October 19, and candidates can withdraw them by October 21. Urban areas will vote on October 28, and vote counting will take place on October 30.

Rural Polls

Elections for Mandal and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies will issue notifications on October 19 and 21. Nominations for these rural seats close on October 23 and undergo scrutiny on October 24. Appeals against rejected nominations happen on October 25 and clear by October 26, with the final withdrawal date set for October 27. Voting and result counting for these seats take place on November 3 and 5. Gram Panchayat elections will happen in three phases on November 26, November 29, and December 2, with results announced on the same days. Indirect elections for Sarpanches and Upa-Sarpanches follow in phases through late November and early December.

Voting Process

Voting will use existing voter lists with updates made up to the date of filing nominations, because the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is still pending. The SEC told relevant departments to issue caste and no-dues certificates to candidates within 24 hours. Officials are also paying special attention to prevent manipulations and encourage unanimous elections.

Context

Local body elections in Indian states decide the leaders who manage civic amenities, rural governance, and local development works at the grassroots level. The Model Code of Conduct is a standard rule enforced during elections to ensure the ruling party does not use government machinery or new announcements to unfairly influence voters.