Hyderabad, 11 December (HS): The first phase of gram panchayat elections in Telangana will be held on Thursday, with the State Election Commission (SEC) stating that all arrangements are in place to ensure peaceful, free and fair polling. More than 56 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes for 3,800 gram panchayats and 37,440 wards across 189 mandals. Polling will be held from 7 a.m., and counting will begin immediately after voting concludes.

State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini said 12,960 candidates are contesting for sarpanch posts, while 65,455 candidates are in the fray for ward member positions. Sarpanches for 395 gram panchayats have been elected unanimously. The SEC has set up 37,562 polling stations, and over one lakh polling staff have been deployed. Election officers have collected polling materials and undergone training for the conduct of the elections.

To strengthen monitoring, direct webcasting will be arranged in more than 3,000 gram panchayats. More than 50,000 police personnel have been deployed, including Civil Police, Armed Reserve, Telangana State Special Police and staff from Forest and Excise departments. Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said additional security has been arranged at counting centres, as vote counting will begin immediately after polling.

Enforcement teams have so far seized cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other inducements worth Rs 8.20 crore during the election process. A total of 229 FIRs have been registered for Model Code of Conduct violations. Police have executed 1,053 non-bailable warrants and ensured that all licensed firearms under election norms have been deposited.

To curb illegal movement of cash, liquor and weapons, 54 inter-state border check posts have been set up along the borders with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. These check posts are operating round the clock. Additionally, 537 flying squad teams and 155 static surveillance teams are working across the state to enforce election guidelines.

The Prohibition and Excise Department has ordered the closure of liquor shops in polling mandals, including wine shops, bars and restaurants serving alcohol, until counting is completed.

According to the SEC notification, the gram panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17 for 12,728 sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 ward seats. A total of 1.66 crore rural voters are eligible to participate in the elections.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar