AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh's State Election Commission has issued the schedule for indirect elections to the top posts in 659 mandal parishads and 28 zilla parishads, following last week's MPTC and ZPTC results.
The schedule
- By November 14: notices to elected members for the special meetings
- November 19: MPP president and vice-president elections at mandal headquarters
- November 20: ZP chairperson and vice-chairperson elections at district headquarters
- On polling day, nominations close at 10 AM and withdrawals at 1 PM; co-opted members are elected at 1 PM and the main posts at 3 PM
Members vote by show of hands. Defying a party whip can cost a member the seat; the whip does not apply to co-opted members. MPs, MLAs and MLCs may attend but cannot vote. One co-opted member is elected for each mandal parishad and two for each zilla parishad. Proceedings will be video-recorded and watched on CCTV, and live telecast is allowed.
At Tuesday's cabinet meeting at the Secretariat, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu told ministers not to become arrogant over the local-body wins, to stay modest and to focus on the 2029 elections. On Monday he said the results reflected public support and asked the opposition to stop making allegations and accept the mandate.
YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged on Monday that the ruling alliance won by using officials and the police, and called Naidu a "rigging master" lecturing on democracy. The schedule for gram panchayat elections is due on November 13.
