Published Oct 21, 2026 | 8:16 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 21, 2026 | 8:16 PM
He instructed the police to provide adequate security to candidates filing their nominations for the MPTC and ZPTC polls.
Synopsis: Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha has directed officials in seven districts to prevent violence during local body election nominations, in line with the Supreme Court’s interim orders. He instructed the police to provide adequate security to candidates filing their nominations for the MPTC and ZPTC polls, while elections in municipalities and corporations outside the 19 municipalities in the seven districts will continue as scheduled.
Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha has directed district Collectors and Superintendents of Police (SPs) to prevent violence during the nomination process for the local body elections in line with the Supreme Court’s interim orders on incidents reported during nomination filing in seven districts.
The SEC will decide its next course of action after receiving the court’s orders and examining the reports submitted by the respective District Collectors and SPs, Punetha said during a video conference with officials from YSR Kadapa, Annamayya, Tirupati, Anantapur, Prakasam, Palnadu and Markapuram districts.
The video conference, chaired by Punetha, was attended by SEC Secretary Dr A Mallikarjuna, Additional Director-General of Police S Madhusudhana Reddy, Inspector-General of Police B Rajakumari, and the Collectors and SPs of the seven districts.
He said the Supreme Court’s directions would be implemented strictly in letter and spirit immediately after the SEC received the orders. He asked officials to remain vigilant.
The SEC has decided to continue the election process in all municipalities and municipal corporations outside the 19 municipalities in the seven districts, as scheduled.
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With violence reported during the filing of nominations in the municipal elections, Punetha directed the Collectors and SPs to take preventive measures to ensure that such incidents did not recur during the nomination process for the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) elections.
He instructed the police to provide adequate security to candidates filing their nominations for the MPTC and ZPTC polls.
He also directed officials to ensure that nominations were accepted peacefully, transparently and in accordance with the rules. Adequate security arrangements must be made to maintain law and order, and officials must supervise the election process to prevent untoward incidents.
The SEC has also clarified that candidates contesting the MPTC and ZPTC elections need not submit a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or a No Due Certificate while filing their nominations.
Political parties had complained to the Commission that some Returning Officers and Election Officers were making these certificates mandatory for candidates.
The SEC said the election code contained no rule requiring candidates to produce either certificate at the time of filing nominations. It has issued clear instructions to the officials concerned on the matter.
The Commission directed officials to ensure that all eligible candidates could file their nominations in accordance with the rules, without being subjected to additional conditions not prescribed by the election code.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
