StatesAndhra Pradesh
Five cyclone-hit Andhra mandals vote on Friday; repolls ordered at two booths
Polling for the parishad seats left over by Cyclone Murasu takes place on November 6, alongside fresh voting at a Kurnool booth hit by rigging complaints and another in Srikakulam. Counting stays on November 7.
Key points
- Voters in five mandals in Eluru, Polavaram and East Godavari cast their ballots on Friday, a day after the rest of the state.
- The State Election Commission has ordered a repoll at a Kurnool booth after complaints of rigging.
- Votes from Friday will be counted on November 7 with the rest of the state.
Voters in five mandals of Andhra Pradesh go to the polls on Friday, November 6, 2026, a day after the rest of the state, to choose their mandal and zilla parishad members. Polling in these areas was put off after Cyclone Murasu flooded roads and villages. Fresh polling will also be held at two single booths, one in Kurnool district and one in Srikakulam.
The State Election Commission moved the vote in Velerupadu, Buttayagudem, Jeelugumilli and Polavaram in the Eluru and Polavaram areas, and in Gopalapuram in East Godavari district. State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha issued the notice on Wednesday. Two polling stations at Achutapuram in Koyyalagudem mandal were also included.
Flooded roads, stranded workers
Eluru Collector K Vetriselvi said on Thursday night that the four mandals in her charge have 4 ZPTC and 42 MPTC seats spread over 140 polling stations. Staff and ballot material had already reached every station, she said. The cyclone’s floods had overflowed the Jalleru, Kovvada and Erra Kalva reservoirs and cut road links in the area.
Vetriselvi and Superintendent of Police K Pratap Siva Kishore said Thursday’s polling in the district’s other 23 mandals passed off peacefully. Sensitive booths in the flood-hit mandals will have extra police, CCTV cameras and webcasting, and officers will wear body cameras. In Buttayagudem, a road bridge was washed away and 22 labourers were left stranded; the SP said police would bring them out.
In Gopalapuram, voters will choose 1 ZPTC member and 18 MPTC members at 64 polling stations.
Repolls in Kurnool and Srikakulam
The commission has ordered a repoll at polling station No. 2 in Arlabanda village of Kosigi mandal in Kurnool district, a ZPTC booth, after complaints of rigging there. It held an inquiry before deciding. Voting will run from 7 am to 5 pm.
In Srikakulam, Collector and District Election Officer Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar announced a repoll at polling station No. 2 in Ponnam village of Srikakulam Rural mandal, also on Friday.
What happens next
Votes cast on Friday will be counted on November 7 with those from the rest of the state. If any of the five mandals needs a repoll after Friday, counting there will be paused and the commission will fix a new date. Elections for mandal parishad presidents and zilla parishad chairpersons follow on November 11 and 12, and the Eluru Collector said gram panchayat elections will come after that.