The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission is set to announce the election schedule for 23 pending urban local bodies on Thursday, November 12. The announcement will pave the way for municipal elections in areas excluded from the earlier round of polling.
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha is scheduled to address the media at 12.30 PM on Thursday and disclose the details of the election programme, according to the latest announcement.
The elections will cover four municipal corporations and 19 municipalities and nagar panchayats. The four corporations are Srikakulam, Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram and Mangalagiri-Tadepalli.
Elections to these urban local bodies were postponed earlier because of pending court cases and legal disputes. With the legal hurdles reportedly cleared, the State Election Commission has decided to proceed with the remaining polls.
The Andhra Pradesh government has already finalised reservations for mayoral and chairperson positions, along with municipal divisions and wards. The preparations are expected to help the Election Commission conduct the polls without further procedural delays.
The four municipal corporations together have 260 divisions. Rajamahendravaram has 72 divisions, followed by Kakinada with 66, Mangalagiri-Tadepalli with 62 and Srikakulam with 60.
The remaining 19 urban local bodies include municipalities such as Bhimavaram, Tadepalligudem, Palakollu, Tanuku, Gudivada, Narasaraopet, Ponnur, Bapatla, Kandukur, Kavali and Srikalahasti.
The proposed elections will complete another important stage of Andhra Pradesh’s local body election process. The earlier round covered 100 urban local bodies, while these 23 were kept outside the original notification because of legal issues.
The fresh notification is expected to specify the nomination process, withdrawal deadlines, polling dates and counting arrangements. Political parties will then be able to finalise their preparations for the remaining municipal contests.
