By 9 am, a voter turnout of 23.5 percent was recorded, according to election authorities. If the same pace continues, a high overall turnout is expected. Election staff monitored queues closely and guided voters to ensure orderly voting. Security arrangements remained tight throughout the morning hours.

Polling will continue until 1 pm in this final phase. Voters standing in queues before the deadline will be allowed to cast their votes. After polling ends, a break of one hour has been scheduled. Vote counting will begin at 2 pm under strict supervision.

In this phase, elections are being held for 3,753 sarpanch posts and 28,410 ward member seats. Earlier, 394 gram panchayats were declared unanimous. The final phase is expected to play a key role in shaping rural governance across Telangana.

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The judgment questioned the legality of increasing the OBC reservation quota to 27 percent, as recommended by the JK Bantia Commission. The court clarified that elections must follow the pre-2022 reservation limits.

In Telangana, 42 percent reservations are provided for BCs, raising concerns about exceeding the Supreme Court’s 50 percent ceiling. Legal challenges are already pending in the state high court.

The Supreme Court’s order has sparked debate ahead of Maharashtra’s local body elections scheduled by January. The Election Commission had earlier been instructed to conduct elections without breaching the 50 percent limit. Authorities must now ensure compliance before polling begins.

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Among them, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh will visit Patna today to campaign for the NDA alliance. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an NDA partner, has joined the campaign trail to support the JDU and BJP candidates in Bihar. Lokesh will focus on promoting the success and governance model of the TDP-led coalition in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the schedule, Lokesh will attend the Bihar Chamber of Commerce meeting at 6 PM. Later, at 7:30 PM, he will meet industrialists to discuss business and development prospects in the state.

On November 9, Lokesh will address a press conference in Patna to express NDA’s vision and share insights from the Andhra Pradesh development experience. Observers expect his visit to energize the Telugu-speaking voter base and strengthen the NDA’s campaign momentum in Bihar.

The post Nara Lokesh Heads to Bihar for NDA Campaign appeared first on India Podcast.

On Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar met Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from all states and union territories. The three-and-a-half-hour meeting included multiple presentations. The session discussed the strategy, timelines, and preparations required for the SIR process. The proposal reportedly received approval during the workshop.

The Election Commission instructed CEOs to finalize a list of documents that voters can use for verification. These papers must be simple, locally accepted, and easily available. States were also advised to consider multiple factors before fixing the verification procedure. The commission clarified that the main aim of the SIR is to remove the names of deceased persons and migrants from the rolls.

Officials assured that groundwork for the revision would be completed by the end of this month. The exercise is expected to ensure cleaner, more accurate electoral rolls ahead of upcoming state and national elections, strengthening the transparency and credibility of the democratic process.

The post EC Plans Nationwide Voter List Revision After Bihar Elections appeared first on India Podcast.