Telangana prepares for panchayat polls; political activity picks up in villages

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Election Commission is gearing up to conduct gram panchayat elections in three phases. In response, officials across the erstwhile districts have begun preparations for sarpanch and ward member polls. Meanwhile, political activity is rising in villages as party leaders strategize and local aspirants prepare to contest.

Election teams review voter lists, begin poll setup

District collectors have started reviewing voter lists and eliminating invalid entries. They are also preparing polling materials and arranging staff training. The State Election Commission recently held a video conference with collectors to streamline the process.

In addition, officials have met with representatives of recognized political parties. These meetings aimed to explain election arrangements and address voter list objections. Authorities are following procedures used in the previous MPTC and ZPTC elections. The first phase will cover sarpanch and ward member elections.

Previous reservation policy to apply; tight security planned

Officials confirmed that the elections will follow the earlier reservation pattern. Although the polls are officially non-party based, political campaigns have begun across the state. Teams are preparing ballot boxes, papers, and other voting essentials. They have also flagged high-risk polling booths for additional security.

With the election schedule expected soon, collectors have asked staff to remain at their headquarters. All departments are working swiftly to meet the end-of-December deadline. Security forces are also planning deployments to avoid disruptions.

Candidates start filing plans; two-child rule scrapped

Leaders from major parties are mobilizing their cadre and shortlisting candidates. Many sarpanch hopefuls are preparing to file nominations based on the earlier reservation system.

The scrapping of the two-child norm has expanded the pool of eligible candidates. As a result, more people are planning to contest. Many seasoned politicians and fresh aspirants hope to test their fortunes again.

With rural political activity gaining momentum, Telangana is poised for a spirited round of local self-governance elections.