Local bodies elections: 16 ZPTC and 103 MPTC nominations filed before High Court stay
Hyderabad: The Telangana local bodies elections came to a sudden halt on Thursday evening, just hours after the nomination process began. The High Court stayed GO 9 related to BC reservations, forcing the State Election Commission (SEC) to stop the process.
Local bodies elections nominations halted after High Court stay
The nomination process for Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) polls began on Thursday morning. Candidates across Telangana showed strong interest and filed 16 ZPTC and 103 MPTC nominations before the process stopped.
In ZPTC constituencies, Siddipet district recorded the highest number of nominations with seven. Rajanna Sircilla followed with two, while Nizamabad, Warangal, Hanumakonda, Karimnagar, Kumurambheem Asifabad, Mahabubabad, and Sangareddy reported one each.
For MPTCs, Bhadradri Kothagudem led with 17 nominations, followed by 11 in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and nine in Asifabad. Nizamabad and Rangareddy reported eight each. Khammam, Narayanpet, Nirmal, and Mahabubabad saw five each. Nagar Kurnool, Siddipet, and Wanaparthy recorded three each. Warangal, Jagtial, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, and Nalgonda reported two nominations each.
Districts including Adilabad, Hanumakonda, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Gadwal, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Mulugu, Peddapalli, Rajanna Sircilla, Sangareddy, and Vikarabad saw one nomination each. Medak, Jangaon, and Suryapet districts recorded none.
The court order brings the process to a stop
The High Court began hearing petitions on BC reservations at 2:30 p.m. It issued interim orders around 4:30 p.m., staying GO 9. The order brought the election process to a complete standstill.
Following the verdict, the State Election Commission held an emergency meeting. After seeking advice from Advocate General Sudarshan Reddy, the Commission decided to suspend the schedule announced earlier in the day.
Nominations to stay valid when elections resume
Officials said all nominations filed before the suspension will remain valid when the process resumes. However, if reservation categories change, candidates will get refunds of their deposits.