A total of 25,654 nominations were submitted for the post of Sarpanch and 82,276 nominations were filed for Ward Member positions in the first stage of the Gram Panchayat elections, scheduled for December 11. The window for filing nominations, which opened on Thursday, closed on Saturday. In several locations, candidates waited in queues to hand in their papers on the final day.
The initial phase of voting will take place in 4,236 panchayats and 37,440 wards, spanning 189 mandals across the state.
Suryapet had the highest volume of Sarpanch nominations, with 1,387 filed for 159 villages. Vikarabad district followed with 1,383 nominations across 262 panchayats, and Mahabubabad district recorded 1,239.
For the ward member positions, Rangareddy had the greatest number of submissions, seeing 4,540 nominations for 1,530 wards, followed by Vikarabad, which received 4,379 nominations for 2,198 wards.
The final date for withdrawing nominations is 3 December. Officials anticipate significant activity on that day, given the large number of candidates. Many panchayats have already elected their Sarpanches uncontested.
The State Election Commission has instructed District Collectors to keep a close watch on panchayats that declared uncontested elections. The Commission stated it would withhold results where it found that unanimous elections had been enforced.
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