As many as 2,723 panchayats in Andhra Pradesh are set to go for polls in the first phase on Tuesday. Elections will also be held to elect 20,157 ward
members, a press release from the Panchayat Raj department said on Monday. Polling will begin from 6.30 AM and go on till 3.30 PM while counting of votes will begin at 4 PM. The polls will go on till February 21 in four phases
The release said though elections were to be held for 3,249 posts of panchayat sarpanchs, 525 have been unanimously elected, while no nomination was filed for a village in Nellore district.
As many as 7,506 candidates are contesting for sarpanch posts and 43,601 are in the fray for ward members.
The elections are being held using ballot paper and without any political party symbols. The release said 29,732 polling stations were set up, out of which 3,458 have been identified as sensitive and 3,594 hypersensitive.
All necessary precautions were in place as per COVID-19 protocol amid tight security and PPE kits will be provided to voters infected by the virus, it added.