Hyderabad: The third and final phase of the Telangana Panchayat elections concluded at 1 pm on Wednesday, with polling held across thousands of villages in the state.
Polling began at 7 am and continued smoothly until 1 pm, the State Election Commission said. Officials allowed voters who reached polling stations before closing time to cast their votes. The state recorded over 70 percent polling in the final phase.
Vote counting will begin at 2 pm, with officials counting ward member votes first, followed by sarpanch votes. Authorities will also elect deputy sarpanches later in the day.
Telangana Panchayat elections see scattered clashes and protests
For the third phase, the SEC issued notifications for elections in 4,159 gram panchayats across 182 mandals. Officials did not receive nominations for 11 sarpanch posts, while 394 sarpanch seats were elected unanimously. Courts stayed elections in two gram panchayats, leaving polling to take place in 3,752 panchayats.
The SEC issued notifications for 36,452 ward member posts. Officials did not receive nominations in 116 wards, while candidates secured unanimous election in 7,908 wards. Courts stayed polling in 18 wards, leading officials to conduct elections in the remaining 28,410 wards.
During polling, clashes broke out at a few locations. In Madaram village of Pargi mandal in Vikarabad district, a dispute over vote-seeking led to clashes between supporters of Congress and BRS sarpanch candidates. The clash injured sarpanch candidate Boyini Ramulu, and officials shifted him to the Pargi government hospital.
In Chennaraopet mandal of Warangal district, rival groups clashed near a polling station over alleged election campaigning. Police intervened and brought the situation under control. In Kothamedepalli village of Enkoor mandal in Khammam district, residents boycotted polling, demanding solutions to local problems. Officials later persuaded villagers to participate.
Police seized ₹28,500 from a sarpanch candidate near a polling booth at Vilasagar government school in Jammikunta mandal of Karimnagar district. Meanwhile, Lavankumar, a student pursuing MS studies in London, returned to his native village Abdullapurmet in Ranga Reddy district and exercised his vote.
State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini monitored the polling process from the SEC office at Masab Tank. She reviewed voting trends through a dashboard, contacted polling officers and observers, and spoke to district officials after reports of low turnout in Nirmal district.