The stage is set for the holding of civic polls in the 11 urban local bodies adhering to COVID-19 protocol in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.
“All arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the elections,” said SPSR Nellore District Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu while overseeing the distribution of polling material to the polling stations in the urban local bodies of Atmakur, Sullurpeta, Nayudupeta and Venakatagiri where 119 candidates were in the fray. The entire polling process would be webcast, he said and exhorted the voters to turn up in large numbers to exercise their voting right.
A local holiday has been declared in the four towns. Promulgatory orders under section 144 Cr.Pc will be in force in and around the polling stations, where the security had been beefed up.
Firms running essential services and those in the private sector were asked to give at least three hours permission to their employees to enable them vote in the elections.
The elections will be held only in 17 of the 23 wards in Atmakur, where six candidates had already been elected unopposed. In Naidupeta, candidates from 23 of the 25 wards had been elected uncontested and now polling will be held only in two wards. In Venkatagiri 23 of the 25 wards will go to polls as two ward candidates have already been elected unopposed. As many as 14 ward aspirants were elected unanimously in Sullurpeta and as a result polling will be held only in 11 wards.
In Prakasam district, the electoral fortune of 724 candidates will be decided in 174 wards in the civic bodies of Ongole, Markapur, Chirala, Addanki, Chimakurthy, Giddalur and Kanigiri, where 24 aspirants had already been elected unopposed.
Meanwhile, police conducted a flag march in the faction-prone Addanki, where a fierce contest is expected between the ruling YSRCP and TDP nominees in 19 of the 20 wards. In one of the wards, the candidate of the TDP withdrew after hectic politicking by ruling party leaders. Just hours before the deadline, the YSRCP candidate also withdrew from contest reportedly at the behest of TDP MLA from Addanki G. Ravikumar.
