Three phase gram panchayat polls in Bapatla district from November 26

Elections to 351 gram panchayats in Bapatla district will be conducted in three phases, with the first phase scheduled for November 26, District Collector V. Vinod Kumar announced on Saturday (November 14, 2026).Addressing a media conference, he said elections would be held for 3,362 wards through 3,770 polling stations. The district has 8,67,954 voters, including 4,23,910 men, 4,43,995 women and 49 others.The first phase will cover six mandals in the Parchur constituency, while the second will cover seven mandals in the Vemuru and Chirala constituencies. The third phase will cover seven mandals in the Bapatla and Repalle constituencies.For the first phase, nominations will be accepted from November 15 to 17, followed by scrutiny on November 18. Appeals against rejected nominations can be filed on November 19 and will be resolved the next day. Candidates can withdraw nominations on November 21, when the final list will be published. Polling and counting will take place on November 26, followed by the election of deputy sarpanches.Under G.O. No. 11, unanimous gram panchayat elections will attract development incentives of ₹15 lakh, ₹25 lakh and ₹50 lakh, depending on population.The Collector also announced Bapatla municipality elections on November 26. He urged voters to verify their names in the electoral rolls and exercise their franchise. Published - November 14, 2026 04:20 pm IST