Indirect polls to MPP, ZPP chief posts

Amaravati: The State Election Commission (SEC) has announced the schedule for indirect elections to the posts of mandal parishad presidents and vice-presidents and zilla parishad chairpersons and vice-chairpersons across Andhra Pradesh. The elections will be held on November 19 and 20, respectively, following the completion of polling and counting for MPTC and ZPTC constituencies.

State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha issued the notifications on Tuesday, for conducting elections to the leadership positions and co-opted membership in 659 Mandal Praja Parishads (MPPs) and 28 Zilla Praja Parishads (ZPPs).

According to the schedule, special meetings will be convened by the respective presiding officers on November 19 to elect MPP presidents and vice-presidents, while the corresponding elections in ZPPs will be conducted on November 20. Notices convening these meetings will be served on the elected MPTC and ZPTC members by November 14.

The process also includes the election of co-opted members before the selection of the respective parishad leadership. Each MPP will elect one co-opted member, while each ZPP will elect two. These positions are reserved for representatives belonging to religious or linguistic minority communities. As per GO Ms No 131 of the panchayat raj and rural development department, dated March 11, 1995, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) are recognised as religious minorities. Those whose mother tongue is a language other than Telugu are considered linguistic minorities.

The MPTC members will elect the MPP president and vice-president from among themselves, while ZPTC members will similarly elect the ZPP chairperson and vice-chairperson. The elections to these leadership positions will be conducted through a show of hands, making adherence to party whips issued by recognised political parties mandatory for members.

However, party whips will not apply to elections for co-opted members.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India