Andhra Pradesh SEC gears up for polls in 100 Urban Local Bodies on November 1
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Workers remove the mike sets used for election campaigning as campaigning ends in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri
The State Election Commission (SEC) is geared up to conduct elections to 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), comprising 13 Municipal Corporations and 87 Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, on November 1. Polling was originally scheduled for October 28 but was deferred following directions from the Supreme Court after violent incidents prevented several candidates from filing their nominations. As part of seat adjustments, the Mayoral posts of the Greater Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada Municipal Corporations were allotted to the TDP and Jana Sena Party, respectively.
With the political negotiations and seat adjustments settled, the SEC has turned its focus to ensuring the smooth conduct of the elections. It has made elaborate security arrangements, deploying 36,351 police personnel under the supervision of 34 Superintendents of Police and 52 Additional Superintendents of Police. Drones will be deployed in sensitive and hypersensitive locations in view of the possibility of clashes between candidates and supporters of rival parties, which could lead to serious law and order problems.
CCTV cameras have also been installed at all polling centres as part of the surveillance measures. Elections to another 23 ULBs have been deferred owing to legal issues and administrative hurdles. Seventeen candidates have been declared unanimously elected as municipal chairpersons, including 15 from the TDP and one each from the Jana Sena Party and the BJP.
The SEC has appointed 28 IAS officers as general observers to oversee the election process and 30 IFS officers as expenditure observers, including two kept in reserve.
The Commission has also set up a control room at its office in Vijayawada to respond to any contingency. It can be contacted on 0866-2490023, 2490024, 2490025 and 2490026, or through the email IDs secyupsech\@gmail.com and seevapseed\@gmail.com.
As per the revised schedule, repolling, if required, will be held on November 2 and counting of votes on November 3. The postponement has also led to the rescheduling of polling for the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) elections to November 5.
The SEC has laid emphasis on strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, with more than 400 flying squads being deployed for the purpose. Security arrangements will also be strengthened at strong rooms where ballot materials will be kept after polling.
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