The first phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana kickstarted at 7 a.m. today, with polling scheduled to continue until 1 p.m. for 3,834 Sarpanch posts and 27,628 ward member seats. A total of 56,19,430 voters will cast their ballots across 37,562 polling stations, after which counting will begin at 2 p.m., followed by declaration of results. Elected ward members will later convene to elect the deputy Sarpanch. Although the elections are officially non-party based, political parties have treated them as prestigious, fielding their supporters and deploying ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and other public representatives for intensive campaigning.
Of the 4,236 Sarpanch posts and 37,440 ward seats notified, nominations were not filed for five Sarpanch and 169 ward positions, while 396 Sarpanch seats and 9,633 ward positions were declared unanimous. Polling has been withheld for one Gram Panchayat and ten ward seats due to court orders. In the fray are 12,960 candidates for 3,834 Sarpanch posts and 65,455 candidates for 27,628 ward seats.
Voters began lining up early, with many farmers and labourers reaching polling centres by 6 a.m. to cast their votes before heading to agricultural work. While voting began on time in most places, some centres saw delays due to inadequate arrangements, prompting officials to complete setup as voters waited.
The State Election Commission has put in place extensive arrangements, including CCTV at every polling station and webcasting at 3,461 sensitive locations. Security has been strengthened with 50,000 civil police personnel, 60 special police platoons, and 2,000 fire and forest staff deployed. Since the notification was issued, officials have registered 3,214 FIRs for Model Code of Conduct violations, bound over 31,428 individuals, and seized cash worth Rs 1,70,58,340, liquor valued at Rs 2,84,97,631, narcotics worth ₹2,22,91,714, jewellery valued at Rs 12,15,500, and other materials worth Rs 64,15,350 — totalling Rs 7,54,78,535.
Meanwhile, unanimous elections continue to dominate the third phase as well. The State Election Commission reported that 394 Sarpanch and 7,616 ward positions have been elected unopposed. With the withdrawal of nominations completed on Tuesday, the updated candidate list was released on Wednesday evening. For the remaining 3,752 Sarpanch posts, 12,640 candidates are contesting, while among 36,434 ward seats, nominations were not filed in 112 wards, 7,916 were unanimous, and 75,283 candidates are contesting for the remaining 28,406 seats.