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Election preparations gather pace in Tirupati, Chittoor districts
In Short
Officials are focusing on procuring polling materials, printing ballot papers, training polling personnel and making security arrangements.
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Tirupati / Chittoor: The proposed reservations for key posts, including Zilla Parishad chairpersons and the Mayors and municipal chairpersons, have drawn considerable political interest as preparations for local body elections gather pace in Tirupati and Chittoor districts.
District administrations in both Chittoor and Tirupati districts have stepped up arrangements following the Supreme Court’s upholding of the High Court’s verdict on reservations, paving the way for the electoral process.
Officials are focusing on procuring polling materials, printing ballot papers, training polling personnel and making security arrangements.
In Chittoor district, elections are expected to be held in the first phase for the Chittoor Municipal Corporation and the municipalities of Kuppam, Palamaner and Nagari. The corporation, which earlier had 50 divisions, now has 60 following delimitation.
The district administration has purchased around 20 tonnes of paper for the Zilla Parishad elections, while a similar quantity is estimated to be required for the gram panchayat polls. Officials are preparing 3,250 ballot boxes for the Zilla Parishad elections and 8,150 for the panchayat elections.
Elections will be held for 27 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and 370 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) across Chittoor district’s 27 mandals. The district has 622 gram panchayats and 5,914 wards. A total of 10,26,821 voters are expected to cast their votes at 5,926 polling stations.
In Tirupati district, elections will be held for 35 ZPTCs and 444 MPTCs across 35 mandals, covering 791 gram panchayats. The district has 12,54,371 voters, including 6,10,515 men, 6,43,752 women and 104 others.
Tirupati district recently got its own Zilla Parishad following its separation from the erstwhile combined district. The upcoming election will be the first for the Zilla Parishad chairperson’s post, making its reservation category a subject of interest among political parties.
The district administration has made the Zilla Parishad office functional at the Collectorate. A staff of 62 members transferred from the erstwhile combined district is involved in election preparations.
The government appointed TN Shobhan Babu as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tirupati Zilla Parishad on Saturday. Till now he worked as DRDA PD in the district.
Officials have arranged 1,641 polling stations and 3,282 ballot boxes. They are inspecting polling stations and making security arrangements. Further, 19 mandals have reportedly been identified as having sensitive polling stations.
Urban local body elections in Tirupati district will cover Tirupati Municipal Corporation and the municipalities of Srikalahasti, Naidupeta, Sullurpeta, Puttur and Venkatagiri. Political circles are closely watching the possible reservation categories for the Tirupati Mayor’s post and the chairperson posts in the other municipalities.
Srikalahasti is also expected to witness increased political activity, as elections are due to be held there after a gap of ten years. Polls could not be conducted during the previous election cycle because of a court dispute.
