Elections in AP to be held on April 30, May 7

Polls for 119 Assembly and 17 parliamentary constituencies in Telangana in first phase, and for 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra in second phase

Elections to the state legislature and the Lok Sabha will be held in Andhra Pradesh in two phases in April and May.

While elections will be held for 119 Assembly and 17 parliamentary constituencies in the Telangana region in the first phase on April 30, polling will be held for 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra in the second phase on May 7.

The last dates for filing nominations in Telangana and Seemandhra are April 9 and 19 and for withdrawal of candidature are April 12 and 23 respectively. Counting of votes will be on May 16.

The model code of conduct for political parties and candidates comes into operation with immediate effect. There is no change in the extent and status of constituencies. Elections will be held according to the 2008 delimitation order.

According to chief electoral officer (CEO) Banwarlal, the total electorate in the state as on Wednesday is 62.46 million. As many as 7.6 million new voters have been registered after the 2009 general elections.

There will be 69, 014 polling stations in the state in the ensuing elections as against 66,761 polling stations in the 2009 elections, an increase by about 3.4 per cent.

All the candidates will be required to file an affidavit along with their nomination papers. The affidavit will include information on the criminal antecedents of the candidates, if any, and their assets and liabilities. The assets include movable and immovable properties and investments made even in foreign countries by the candidate, spouse and dependents.

The Election Commission will deploy general observers, expenditure observers and police observers to ensure smooth conduct of polls and keep a close watch on election expenditure.

The candidates have to maintain a separate bank account and make payments through cheques from that account for election expenditure. Political parties too have to submit election expenditure details within 90 days of Lok Sabha and 75 days of Assembly elections.