VIJAYAWADA: A total of 19,491 nominations for sarpanch and 79,799 for ward member posts were filed for the first phase of Panchayat Raj elections. Filing of nominations concluded on Sunday, but the cumulative figure was available only on Monday. On the final day, 10,715 sarpanch aspirants, and 54,256 ward member aspirants filed papers. The first phase of PR polls is scheduled to be held on February 9 for several panchayats under 18 revenue divisions of 12 districts. As many as 3,335 village panchayats and 33,632 wards will go to polls.
The highest number of nominations for sarpanches were filed in Chittoor (2,890), where 276 panchayats will go to polls on February 9; and the lowest in Nellore (959). For wards, the highest number of
nominations were filed in East Godavari—12,913 candidates will contest the elections to 2,806 wards; and the lowest in Anantapur (3,080).
Barring a few stray incidents of violence and snatching of nomination papers by rivals, the process concluded peacefully by and large. Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar shot off a letter to Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das on Monday stating that model code of conduct is also applicable to corporation chairpersons and directors of government departments visiting districts.
He said no government vehicle or any other facility should be made available to them during such tours.
In case any private vehicle is engaged, those vehicles cannot display name plates higlighting the position of the person concerned. This came days after the SEC wrote to the CS about the implementation of the poll code for ministers’ tour to districts.