Hyderabad: Campaigning for the Telangana municipal elections ended on Monday, closing weeks of intense political activity across the state ahead of polling on February 11.
The elections span 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations. Consequently, both ruling and opposition parties treated the Telangana municipal elections as a key test of strength and projected them as political semi-finals.
Until the deadline, streets echoed with roadshows, door-to-door outreach, and senior leaders’ tours. However, after campaigning stopped, public attention shifted to voters and polling-day arithmetic.
Across 123 urban local bodies, authorities are conducting elections to 2,996 wards and divisions. In total, 52,43,023 voters are eligible to vote. Of these, 25,62,639 are men, 26,80,014 are women, and 640 fall under other categories, making women voters a decisive factor.
Telangana municipal elections: polling, security and counting plan
To ensure smooth polling, the State Election Commission rolled out comprehensive arrangements for the Telangana municipal elections. Officials set up 8,195 polling stations statewide and readied 16,031 ballot boxes, as voting will take place through the ballot paper system.
Meanwhile, the Commission appointed 1,379 Returning Officers and 1,547 Assistant Returning Officers to supervise the process. At the field level, 9,560 Presiding Officers and 31,428 other staff members are performing election duties.
After polling ends, officials will store ballot boxes in 137 strong rooms. In addition, authorities arranged 136 counting centres for vote counting. As many as 12,993 candidates are contesting in the Telangana municipal elections.
At the same time, the government tightened security to prevent untoward incidents. Around 25,000 police personnel are monitoring the situation statewide, while officials deployed additional forces at sensitive polling stations. Moreover, authorities provided webcasting facilities at every polling booth to enable real-time monitoring.
Polling will take place on February 11. Subsequently, officials will conduct vote counting on February 13. Thereafter, the election of mayors, deputy mayors, municipal chairpersons, and deputy chairpersons will follow on February 14. Finally, the process will conclude on February 16 with the swearing-in of newly elected ward members and a special meeting.