Hyderabad, Dec 11 : Polling for the first phase of the Telangana Gram Panchayat elections is currently underway on Thursday. The voting began at 7 a.m. for 3,834 Sarpanch posts and 27,628 Ward Member posts amid tight security.

A total of 12,960 candidates are in the fray for Sarpanch posts, while 65,455 candidates are competing for the Ward Member posts.

More than 56 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes at 37,562 polling centres spread across 189 mandals.

The polling will continue till 1 p.m., while the counting of votes will be taken up from 2 p.m. Subsequently, a meeting of newly-elected ward members will be held to elect deputy sarpanches.

The elections are being seen as a test for ruling Congress and opposition BRS and BJP even though Gram Panchayat polls are conducted on a non-party basis.

The poll notification was issued for 4,326 Sarpanch posts and 37,440 Ward Member posts. No nomination was filed for five Sarpanch posts and 169 Ward Member posts.

Sarpanches for 396 Gram Panchayats and 9,633 Ward Members were elected unanimously.

Courts have granted a stay for elections to one Gram Panchayat and 10 Ward Members.

A total of 56,19,430 electorate, comprising 27,41,070 males and 28,78,159 females, are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase.

A holiday has been declared in areas where elections are being held to enable voters to cast their votes.

A total of Station Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini said that all arrangements have been made for peaceful, free and fair elections.

Over one lakh polling staff are on duty. In 3,461 Gram Panchayats, direct webcasting has been arranged to ensure real-time monitoring of the polling process.

District Collectors (District Election Authorities) and General Observers are observing the polls through webcasting.

More than 50,000 police personnel have been deployed. Personnel from Civil Police, Armed Reserve, Telangana State Special Police (TGSP), and staff deputed from other departments, such as Forest and Excise, have been mobilised to ensure smooth conduct of the elections.

Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy said since the counting of votes will take place immediately after the polling, adequate security has also been arranged at all counting centres.

So far, enforcement teams have seized cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and other inducements worth Rs 8.20 crore during the ongoing election process. A total of 229 FIRs have been registered for violations of the Model Code of Conduct.

As per the notification issued by the State Election Commission last month, the panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17 for 12,728 Sarpanch posts and 1,12,242 Ward Member posts.

A total of 1.66 crore votes in rural areas are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.

The Telangana Cabinet last month decided to conduct only Gram Panchayat elections in December as the Rs 3,000 crore grant, which should come from the Centre, will lapse by March 31, 2026.

Elections for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and municipal corporations will be held after the High Court's final orders on 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs).

In October, the High Court struck down a government order providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies but allowed conduct of the elections with a 50 per cent cap on total reservation for all sections.

The SEC has provided 17.08 per cent reservation in Gram Panchayats for BCs. Out of total 12,735 Gram Panchayats, 2,176 have been reserved for BCs.

/IANS