Polling underway for municipal elections in Telangana; over 52 lakh voters to decide fate of 12,944 candidates

Polling was underway for municipal elections in 116 municipalities and seven corporations in Telangana amid tight security on Wednesday.

The voting, which began at 7 a.m. at 8,191 polling stations, will end at 5 p.m., officials at the State Election Commission (SEC) said.

A total of 52,17,413 voters are eligible to cast their votes in 2,981 wards across the 123 urban local bodies.

The SEC has deployed 1,379 Returning Officers and 41,773 polling staff for the polling process. Webcasting has been arranged at all polling centres.

State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini appealed to all voters to exercise their franchise. She said voters can download their voter slips from the SEC website or the TE-POLL app.

A total of 12,944 candidates are testing their political fortunes in these elections.

Polling is being held for 2,569 wards in 116 municipalities. Twelve candidates in nine municipalities have been elected unopposed.

The SEC has postponed polling in a ward in Makthal municipality in Narayanpet district following the suicide of a BJP candidate on Monday night.

A total of 10,719 candidates are in the fray in the 116 municipalities. They include 2,358 candidates from the ruling Congress party, 2,478 from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and 2,252 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Officials said 6,017 polling centres have been set up in the municipalities.

Polling is also underway for 412 wards in seven municipal corporations. Candidates in two wards in Mahabubnagar and Ramagundam were elected unopposed.

Authorities have set up 2,174 polling centres in the seven corporations. As many as 2,225 candidates are in the fray in these corporations. They include 410 candidates from Congress, 401 from BRS, and 382 from BJP.

Director General of Police B. Shivdhar Reddy said tight security arrangements have been made for polling. About 3,000 additional police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.

The police identified 1,302 polling centres as highly problematic and 1,926 centres as problematic. Additional forces have been deployed at these centres.

Repolling, if any, will be held on Thursday, while counting of votes will be taken up the following day.

Municipal chairpersons and vice-chairpersons will be elected on February 16.