AMARAVATI, Andhra Pradesh, September 22, 2026 (Journalist File) — Andhra Pradesh has begun preparations for the next stage of urban local body elections with the identification of voters belonging to SC, ST and BC communities and women, a process that will form the basis for determining electoral reservations.
Municipal Administration Department Principal Secretary S. Suresh Kumar has issued instructions for the exercise, which will initially be carried out in selected urban local bodies under a fixed schedule.
The move comes after the government issued rules governing the election of mayors, chairpersons and ward members, bringing the municipal election process another step forward.
Ward-wise identification from September 23
The first phase will cover 12 municipal corporations and 29 municipalities and nagar panchayats.
Officials will identify SC, ST and women voters on a ward-wise basis from September 23 to 25. Draft lists will be displayed publicly in the respective wards on September 26.
Objections and suggestions to the draft lists can be submitted on September 27 and 28. Municipal authorities will scrutinise the representations on September 29 and 30 and carry out field-level verification and corrections where required.
The final voter-category lists are scheduled to be released on October 1.
BC identification to follow
The BC voter-identification exercise will follow a similar procedure, according to the municipal administration department.
The first phase will be implemented in selected urban local bodies in the Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Guntur and Anantapur regions.
Officials have been instructed to make adequate arrangements, including deployment of staff and completion of field-level verification, given the importance of the exercise in determining reservations for the municipal elections.
Reservation process key to election schedule
Identification of voters by social category is an important administrative stage before reservations for municipal wards and other elected positions can be finalised.
Once the identification process, objections and verification are completed and the final lists are published, the government will be able to proceed with subsequent reservation-related formalities and other stages of the urban local body election process.
The schedule announced by the government places the publication of the final voter-category lists on October 1, marking a key administrative milestone in preparations for the municipal polls.
