HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday gave the green signal for the municipal elections, following which the State Election Commission (TSEC) issued a notification for conduct of polls in 120 municipalities and nine municipal corporations in the State.
Polls to Karimnagar Municipal Corporation have been put on hold as the High Court has noticed certain discrepancies among the communities in the voters’ lists. The SEC has sought a clarification from the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) about the grounds for reservations as there were discrepancies in SC and ST electoral rolls in the draft list and the final list.
"If they give us the clarification before 12 midnight, the notification will apply to Karimnagar Municipal Corporation too," TSEC Commissioner V Nagi Reddy said. Late in the night, the CDMA department submitted a report to the TSEC. However, the election panel is yet to take a decision on the issue.
As per the notification issued by the TSEC, the elections will be held on January 22 and counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on January 25.
The Returning Officers (ROs) will issue election notice on Wednesday, after which the nominations will be received between 10.30 am and 5 pm. The ward-wise electoral rolls will also be displayed on Tuesday and the deadline for filing of nominations is 5 pm on January 10.
The scrutiny of nominations will take place from 11 am on January 11. Date for appeal against rejection of nominations before the District Election Authority or Additional District Election Authority/Deputy District Election Authority will be on January 12 and date for disposal of appeal is January 13.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations by candidates is 3 pm on January 14. The final list of contesting candidates will be published on January 14. The polling will take place between 7 am and 5 pm January 22. If required, re-polling will take place on January 24. Counting of votes will start at 8 am on January 25 and the results will be declared soon after the completion of counting of votes.
Earlier in the day, a division bench of Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy dismissed the PIL filed by Congress leader and Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar Reddy, challenging the notification issued by the SEC on December 23, 2019 for conduct of elections to municipalities and municipal corporations.
Tuesday’s court order has paved the way for the SEC announce the election schedule. Meanwhile, the election to the vacant Dabeerpura ward, which comes under GHMC limits, will also be held on January 22. The seat fell vacant after corporator Riyaz-Ul-Hasan Effendi was elevated as MLC.