Hyderabad, Sep 29 (IANS) Elections to rural local bodies in Telangana will be held in five phases in October-November, the State Election Commission announced on Monday.

Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and Gram Panchayats will go to polls.

Elections to MPTCs and ZPTCs will be held in two phases on October 23 and 27, while Gram Panchayats will go to polls in three phases on October 31, November 4 and November 8.

Over 1.67 crore voters will be able to cast their votes in these elections. State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini announced the much-awaited election schedule.

Votes polled in ZPTCs and MPTCs will be counted on November 11, while counting in gram panchayats will be taken up after the polling.

Elections will be conducted in 565 mandals in 31 districts. Polling will be held for 565 ZPTCs, 5,749 MPTCs, 12,733 gram panchayats and 1,12,288 wards.

The polling will be conducted by using ballot boxes and ballot papers. The ballot boxes have been borrowed from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The State Election Commissioner said that the number of voters is 1,67,03,168, comprising 81,65,894 males, 85,36,770 females and 504 others.

The SEC appealed to all voters and contesting candidates to strictly observe the Model Code of Conduct, to cast their votes freely and fairly and to make the election process successful.

Elections will not be held for 14 MPTCs, 27 gram panchayats and 246 wards due to stay orders issued by courts in different cases.

She said the High Court had directed the SEC to complete the election process on or before September 30. The SEC filed a petition with a prayer to grant an extension of 45 days from September.

Rani Kumudini said the SEC has completed all pre-election activities.

The government, through two GOs on September 26, issued comprehensive guidelines on reservations to Mandal, Zilla Parishads and Gram Panchayats.

The SEC, on September 27, held a meeting with state-level officers like the Chief Secretary, DGP, Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development and others to review the arrangements for the elections.

–IANS

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