If the reports from New Delhi are to be believed, the elections to the assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are expected to be held on March 6 and the schedule is likely to be announced on February 2.
Though there is no official communication to this effect so far, sources quoting the Election Commission of India said the elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assembly are going to be advanced by a month. In 2019, the elections in Andhra Pradesh were held on April 11.
The ECI has decided that this time, too, the elections to the Lok Sabha will be held in six to eight phases across the country, starting the first week of March till end of April.
The Lok Sabha elections in Telangana and in Andhra, along with Andhra assembly elections will held in the first phase itself on March 6.
“If the elections are held on March 6, the schedule will be announced in the first week of February itself, most probably on February 2. The nomination process will start after February 9 or 10,” sources said.
A team of ECI will tour Andhra Pradesh on January 9 and 10 to review the preparedness for the elections. It will hold meetings with all district collectors and SPs to gear them up for the elections, besides looking into the complaints in the preparation of voters’ list.
The EC team will also launch an awareness campaign about the Electronic Voting Machines among the voters and take steps to prevent flow of liquor and money in the elections.
The ECI announced the latest draft electoral rolls, according to which there are 3,69,33,091 voters in the state, including 1.83 crore men and 1.86 crore women.
The final electoral rolls will be announced after the visit of EC team, sources added.