Stage set for polling in 92 urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh on November 1

State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha addressing the media in Vijayawada on Saturday. Director of Municipal Administration P. Sampath Kumar and Inspector General of Police B. Raja Kumari are seen. | Photo Credit: G.N. Rao

After days of hectic political activity and violent incidents during the filing of nominations, the stage is set for elections to 92 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Andhra Pradesh on November 1. The elections will be held in 13 Municipal Corporations and 79 of the 87 Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats.

Elections in eight Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats — Allagadda, Dachepalli, Darsi, Gurajala, Kamalapuram, Piduguralla, Proddatur and Rayachoti — were unanimous, with both chairpersons and ward members elected unopposed.

In the Municipal Corporations, there was no unanimous election for the post of Mayor. However, 118 of the 922 ward member seats were elected unopposed, and polling will be held for the remaining 804 wards. A total of 3,073 candidates are in the fray.

In the Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, polling will be held for 2,382 wards, with 6,669 candidates contesting. Elections to 637 wards were unanimous, while one seat was uncontested.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha said 153 candidates were contesting for the posts of Mayor in the Municipal Corporations. A total of 367 candidates were in the fray for the 70 posts of chairpersons in the Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. Chairpersons for the remaining 17 urban local bodies had already been declared elected unanimously.

The Mayors and chairpersons are being elected directly by the people following the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Legislative Assembly in August.

Mr. Punetha said the Municipal Corporations had a total of 59,97,918 voters, including 29,27,987 men, 30,69,166 women and 765 others. The Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats had 39,38,096 voters, comprising 19,01,239 men, 20,36,179 women and 678 others.

A total of 376 Returning Officers and 518 Assistant/Additional Returning Officers were deployed for the Municipal Corporation elections. In the Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, 1,073 Election Officers and 2,025 Assistant/Additional Election Officers were on duty.

As many as 1,835 personnel were deployed for webcasting at polling stations across the urban local bodies. Tight security arrangements were made at 142 critical, 7,070 sensitive and 4,262 hypersensitive polling stations.

All necessary arrangements had been made in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions, Mr. Punetha said. Footage from CCTV cameras and webcasting would be preserved in cases where candidates or other stakeholders approached election tribunals, until the disposal of the cases.

Published - October 31, 2026 08:03 pm IST