ECI to Issue Notification Today for AP Polls
Vijayawada: The Election Commission would issue the notification on Thursday for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh that will be held in 4 phases. Nominations for both Assembly and Lok Sabha seats will be accepted from the same day.
Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena said here on Wednesday that candidates for Lok Sabha should file their nominations at the respective collectorate and those for the Assembly at the headquarters of the respective Assembly segment.
He said that each contestant could be allowed to file a maximum of four sets of nominations and can contest only from two seats. Contestants would be permitted to take four persons along with them to file the nominations at the offices of Returning Officers concerned. The rest of supporters, if any, would be stopped 100 metres away from the RO’s office.
Only three vehicles would be allowed for the contestants to reach the RO’s office to file the nomination papers.
A contestant for LS must pay a security deposit of `25,000 while for Assembly it is `10,000. In case of contestants from SC and ST communities, only 50 per cent of the total security deposit needs to be paid.
The CEO has called upon the contestants to comply with the model code of conduct while filing their nomination papers and said that electronic surveillance was set up at the office where nominations are to be accepted and also at its entrance.
He said that processions, if any, while going for filing of nominations would be video recorded.
The contestants are advised to carry 13 varieties of documents. Those contesting the LS should fill up Form-2 A and those for Assembly Form-2 B. Nominations will be accepted from 11 am to 3 pm on all notified dates, and no nomination will be accepted on public holidays.
Each contestant will be permitted to file a maximum of four sets of nomination papers to RO or ARO. He or she can also submit nomination papers either directly or through a proposer.
Help Deks are set up at all Assembly segments and contestants could avail Suvidha app to file nominations but they were supposed to submit the hard copy physically to the RO.
The issue of gazette notification for conduct of polls and acceptance of nominations will be on April 18, the last date for filing of nominations-April 25, scrutiny of nominations-April 26, last date for withdrawal of nominations-April 29, polling will be held on May 13 and the counting on June 4.
Meanwhile, all the major political parties including the YSRC and the Telugu Desam, Jana Sena, BJP, Congress and others announced the nominees for the 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats - with an exception for one or two seats for change of nominees.
The electioneering is slowly picking up while prominent leaders like YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, BJP state president Daggubati Purandeswari and PCC chief Y.S. Sharmila have been addressing public meetings to reach out to the people.