Hyderabad: Third phase panchayat elections in Telangana began on Wednesday with polling starting at 7 am across the state, covering 3,752 gram panchayats in 182 mandals.
Polling in the third phase panchayat elections will continue till 1 pm. Counting will start from 2 pm. The State Election Commission held the elections in three phases. Polling in the first two phases ended earlier.
In this phase, 12,652 candidates are contesting for 3,752 sarpanch posts. Another 75,725 candidates are in the race for 28,410 ward member posts. Officials set up 36,483 polling stations to manage voting.
A total of 53,06,401 voters can vote in the third phase panchayat elections. This includes 26,01,861 men, 27,04,394 women, and 140 others. Officials expected a good turnout due to strong local campaigns.
Third phase panchayat elections see strict police checks
Before polling, 394 sarpanch posts and 7,908 ward member posts were filled without contest. However, no one filed nominations for 11 sarpanch posts and 116 ward member seats.
Police enforced the election code during the third phase panchayat elections. Teams carried out checks across villages and roads to stop violations. These checks led to the seizure of items worth ₹9.11 crore.
The seized items included ₹2.09 crore in cash, liquor worth ₹3.81 crore, drugs worth ₹2.28 crore, and goods worth ₹90 lakh. Police also bound over 36,165 people with criminal records and took back 912 weapons to keep the peace.