AP gearing up for civic polls

After the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, Andhra Pradesh is now gearing up for polls to urban local bodies and panchayat raj institutions.

Dates for these elections are likely to be finalised only after the new government assumes office in the State after May 23, official sources indicated.

The five-year term of both urban local bodies (ULBs) and panchayat raj institutions (PRIs) will end this month.

Accordingly, the State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar held a meeting here Friday with officials concerned to review the preparedness for the elections.

Andhra Pradesh has a three-tier panchayat raj system: the village panchayat, mandal parishad and zilla parishad.

Elections to village panchayats are conducted on an apolitical basis.

"In the first leg, elections to over 13,000 village panchayats will be conducted. This will be followed by elections to mandal and zilla parishads. Elections to ULBs will be held in the third leg," the SEC said.

While ballot papers would be used for the panchayat election, EVMs would be used for mandal and zilla parishads and also ULBs, he said.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said they were ready to face the local bodies' elections as and when held.

"But we will insist on using VVPATs along with EVMs," the Telugu Desam Party supremo told reporters here.