Gazette notification gives room for early panchayat polls
Rajamahendravaram: There are growing indications that Panchayat elections may be conducted earlier than scheduled, possibly as soon as September. Although the current term of the Gram Panchayats officially ends in March 2026, the Panchayat Raj Act permits elections to be held up to five months in advance. Observers believe the State government may use this provision to go to the polls early.
The previous round of panchayat elections was held in February 2021, with the governing bodies taking charge from April 1 of that year. The YSR Congress Party secured over 90 percent of the panchayats during that round. However, allegations arose that the ruling party misused its power to block opposition candidates from filing nominations, raising questions about the fairness of the process.
In a move that strengthens the possibility of early elections, officials have begun the process of notifying the gram panchayats across the region. On Thursday, Kakinada District Collector and United District nodal officer Sagili Shan Mohan issued a gazette notification confirming the total number of gram panchayats in the erstwhile East Godavari district as 1,102. This figure was finalised after including newly formed panchayats, merged mandals, and those integrated into urban local bodies. The notification was issued based on the directions of the State Panchayat Raj Commissioner.
In 2010, the district had 1012 gram panchayats divided into five grades based on population and revenue. After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, four mandals from Khammam district were merged into East Godavari. Later, in 2020, new panchayats were formed. Special notifications were issued creating 35 new gram panchayats, while eight were converted into municipalities or merged with urban bodies. As part of this reorganisation, 63 panchayats from Kunavaram, Chintur, VR Puram, and Yetapaka mandals were added to East Godavari.
In 2010, the panchayats were categorised into five grades based on population and revenue, but now, a move towards a three-grade system is being discussed. Currently, smaller panchayats are being administered in clusters of two or three.
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