HYDERABAD: The Election Commission of India issued the poll notification for the Telangana Assembly elections on Friday.
Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj made it clear that the State Election Commission has not received any proposal from the state government regarding the distribution of the Rythu Bandhu scheme.
Stressing the importance of smooth, free, fair, transparent and inducement-free elections, Vikas Raj said that 375 central companies are set to arrive in the State.
Reminding that nominations will be received till November 10, scrutiny will take place on November 13 and the last date for withdrawal is November 15, Vikas Raj said that polling on November 30 will start at 7 am and conclude at 5 pm in 106 of the 119 Assembly constituencies in the state, while it will end an hour early in 13 segments due to security concerns.
These 13 constituencies — in Sirpur, Chennur, Bellampalli, Mancherial, Asifabad, Manthani, Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Pinapaka, Yellandu, Kothagudem, Aswaraopeta, and Bhadrachalam — are considered Maoist-affected areas.
Candidates must file an affidavit in Form-26, disclosing information about their criminal antecedents, assets, liabilities and education qualifications. They should open a separate bank account to monitor their poll expenditure, with this account being accessible from anywhere in the state.
362 plaints received so far: CEO
Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said that 88 Assembly constituencies are for the general category, 19 for SCs and 12 for STs. As many as 75 constituencies are distributed across one district, 36 in two districts and eight in three districts. Some districts also share borders with neighbouring states Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
He said that voter awareness programmes are being conducted in areas where polling percentages were low, and special attention is being paid to ensure adherence to the MCC. The I-T department has raised concerns about the cooperation of banks in sharing information about suspicious transactions above Rs 10 lakh. The ECI has directed all banks to cooperate with the I-T department.
As of now, 362 complaints have been received, with 256 FIRs booked for MCC violations. These complaints include cases against various political parties, such as BRS, Congress, BJP, and BSP. The CEO also said that a representation related to the misuse of Pragathi Bhavan has been forwarded to the ECI for necessary action.