Amaravati: Polling for the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC) elections began peacefully across Andhra Pradesh at 7 a.m. on Thursday. Voters turned up at polling stations throughout the state, and voting will continue until 5 p.m. Coming soon after the recent municipal elections, the Parishad polls carry significant political weight.
Voting is being held for 582 ZPTC and 7,767 MPTC seats, with 21,012 candidates in the fray. About 2.61 crore (26.1 million) voters are eligible to vote. More than 2,000 seats have already been won unopposed.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has set up 31,460 polling stations, staffed by over two lakh (200,000) officials and personnel. Police have mounted a heavy deployment statewide to prevent untoward incidents, with additional forces stationed in sensitive areas of several districts. Opposition parties have demanded that the polls be conducted freely and fairly and that surveillance at polling booths be stepped up.
Adverse weather caused by a cyclone has forced the postponement of polling in five mandals across Eluru and East Godavari districts. Voting there will be held on Friday. Polling is proceeding as scheduled in all other areas.
Votes will be counted and results declared on November 7.