SEC sets ball rolling for civic polls; over 900 nominations filed on 1st day

Hyderabad: The State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday issued notifications for municipal elections, with over 900 nominations filed on the first day for 123 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) going to polls.

According to SEC officials, for the 2,996 wards, a total of 902 nominations were filed by 890 candidates on the opening day. The Indian National Congress (INC) led the count with 382 nominations, followed by BRS with 258. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saw 169 candidates file nominations, while the CPM had eight, AIMIM three, and BSP seven. Additionally, 19 nominations were filed by recognised parties from other states and other registered political parties with TGSEC, along with 55 independent candidates.

The last date for filing nominations is January 30 by 5 pm. Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on January 31, while the final date for withdrawal of nominations is February 3, when the SEC will also publish the final list of contesting candidates. Polling for the municipal elections is scheduled from 7 am to 5 pm on February 11.