Elections 2024: Nominations for Andhra, Telangana to be accepted from April 18

Amaravati: Nominations for Andhra elections and Telangana Lok Sabha polls will accepted from April 18.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena on Wednesday said nominations from candidates for the 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats will be accepted from April 18 to 25 between 11 am and 3 pm.

Candidates can file their nominations personally or through a proposer and are required to submit the details of a newly opened bank account.

“The crucial part of accepting nominations for the electoral process will begin from Thursday and all the district officials have made the arrangements,” said Meena in a press release.

Besides opening a helpdesk for filing nominations, the Election Commission will also open helpdesks in all the Assembly constituencies.

Though there is an option to file nominations through the Suvidha app, the hard copies must be submitted to the Returning Officer (RO).

The CEO noted that nominations will be scrutinised on April 26 and the last date for candidates to withdraw them is April 29.

He observed that each candidate can file a maximum of four sets of nomination and a candidate can contest a maximum of only two seats.

Along with the candidate, only four more persons will be allowed into the Returning Officer’s office for filing the nomination and all others will be restricted at a distance of 100 metres. Likewise, only three vehicles will be allowed into the RO’s office, he said.

Further, the CEO said Parliamentary candidates have to deposit Rs 25,000 and Assembly candidates Rs 10,000, which is halved in case of SC/ST candidates.

To record the entire nominations procedure, the Election Commission has set up CCTV cameras in the office where the nominations are received and also the way leading to it, said Meena.

As part of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the CEO said the poll body will also record the candidates coming in a procession to file their nominations.

Moreover, Meena highlighted that from the time of filing the nominations, a candidate’s expenditure will be accounted for, along with announcements in newspapers and paid news.

Simultaneous elections for the Assembly and Lok Sabha in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4.

LS polls in Telangana

The gazette notification for election to the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana would be issued on April 18, setting the stage for a keen electoral battle among the ruling Congress, BJP and BRS. Nominations would be accepted from April 18 to 25.

The papers would be scrutinized on April 26 and the last date for the withdrawal of nominations is April 29, as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission. Polling for the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana would be held in single phase on May 13.

Congress, fresh from its win in the 2023 Assembly polls, is keen to repeat the good show, while BRS that ruled the state for 10 years and now suffering defections, is striving hard to reverse its fortunes.

The BJP, energised with its better poll show-- in terms of seats and vote share in 2023 state elections, is eager to make more electoral inroads.

While the BJP and BRS have already announced their candidates for all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, Congress has named its nominees to 14 seats so far. The campaign is expected to gather momentum after the issue of election notification on April 18.

Revanth Reddy recently addressed two public meetings, while Chandrasekhar Rao, also known as KCR, has also attended two BRS rallies organised during the last few days.

The Lok Sabha election is crucial for the Congress, BJP and BRS, especially the Chandrasekhar Rao-led party which is facing an existential crisis of sorts following its unexpected defeat in the Assembly elections held in November last year.

The election is also significant for CM Revanth Reddy as Congress needs to retain the momentum following its victory in the Assembly polls.

For BJP, Telangana is the only state in the south, after Karnataka, where it sees the possibility to win a substantial number of seats. BRS had won nine of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, while BJP and Congress secured four and three seats respectively.