Officials gearing up for panchayat elections

Vikarabad: Upon completion of Assembly elections, officials are now gearing up for panchayat polls. As the entire process comes under Panchayat Raj department, Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDO), EORDs, District Panchayat Officer (DPO) and village secretaries are busy in election arrangements. The elections will be held for 565 panchayats in the district. This time, 209 new panchayats were set up.

Already the State Election Commissioner, Nagireddy, and Secretary Ashok Kumar conducted video conference with DPOs and reviewed the poll arrangements. The list of BC voters is also almost completed. As many as 3, 09,197 BC voters are identified in the district, and among them 1, 55,925 are male voters and 1, 53,272 are female voters. The latest list will be announced on December 15 after final corrections. As per court’s directive, the elections should be completed by January 10. Officials said that the allocation of reservation would be done after announcing the final list of voters.

Thandas that have full tribal population will be given to STs only. The process of reservation is being carried out after considering the population of the respected communities and their previous allotted reservation. The officials are planning to hold the elections in three phases. The process requires a large number of employees. Holding elections in two phases would be a tough task for them. However, the final decision from government is awaited.