Overview
- Of 4,236 gram panchayats in the first phase, 3,836 will vote on December 11 after 395 sarpanches were elected unanimously and five seats drew no valid nominations.
- The State Election Commission scheduled polls across 12,728 gram panchayats and 112,242 wards in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17.
- Multi-layered safeguards to deter seat auctioning included a monitoring cell, complaint verification and candidate declarations, and no district recommended canceling any phase-one poll.
- Unanimous outcomes in the erstwhile Adilabad region total 59 so far, with local elders steering consensus in several tribal and agency areas.
- Uncontested seats appear lower than the previous cycle, and parties are working to field single candidates as the state has announced no reward for unanimous panchayats.