HYDERABAD: The first ordinary elections to Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) will be held in three phases - on May 6, 10 and 14 - the Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Saturday, adding that the results will be declared on May 27.
Nominations for the first phase will be accepted from April 22, and as many as 197 ZPTCs and 2,166 MPTCs will be elected in this phase. The second phase will see polls to 180 ZPTCs and 1,913 MPTCs, while the third phase will witness elections to 161 ZPTCs and 1,738 MPTCs. In all, 538 ZPTCs and 5,817 MPTCs will be elected.
Polls at one ZPTC office in Magapeta of Mulug district, and 40 MPTCs of Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district, Burgamphahad and Badrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem, will not be held as there is a legal block over previous elections in these regions.
After the ZPTC and MPTC polls, Mandal Praja Parishad and Zilla Praja Parishad (ZPP) members will be elected. About 1.56 crore people will be eligible to vote in the upcoming polls, State Election Commissioner (SEC) V Nagi Reddy said, adding that the electoral rolls would include those who registered themselves and completed their verification by April 20.
“We cannot have people who voted in the municipal elections vote in these polls too as it is against the Representation of Peoples Act,” Reddy said. The returning officer will make necessary inquiries before adding people on the electoral rolls, he added.
Ballot boxes will be used in these elections as the SEC does not have enough EVMs and VVPAT machines. Pink voter slips will be used for the ZPTC elections and white slips will be used for the MPTC elections, Reddy said.
About 50,000 officials will work to ensure smooth conduct of the elections, and as many as 26,000 police personnel will be deployed at the 36,000 polling stations. The model code of conduct (MCC), which is in force in the state, will be applicable for the ensuing elections as well. The SEC has made provisions for candidates to file their nominations online.
Those wanting to try their luck in contesting for both the MPTC and ZPTC elections may do so, but if a person wins in two constituencies, he/she would have to resign from one of them. The SEC has capped the expenditure at `1.5 lakh for MPTC contestants and `4 lakh for ZPTC contestants.
The SEC also made it clear that candidates cannot contest from more than one ZPTC or MPTC constituency. “By the last date to file nominations, there should only be one constituency from which they are contesting. Otherwise, the SEC will consider nominations in all constituencies invalid,” State Election Commissioner (SEC) V Nagi Reddy said.
Online nominations
The SEC has made provisions for nomination to be filed online. However, after filing of the nominations, candidates need to take a hard copy of the submitted form and submit it with the returning officer.
Prepared for polls in Nizamabad
After a record 183 nominations were filed in the recent LS polls in Nizamabad, the SEC said it is well prepared to conduct the elections. “We even have giant ballot boxes. In history, there have been instances when we conducted elections with 600 candidates,” Nagi Reddy said.