Over 52 Lakh Voters to Decide Fate of Urban Local Bodies in Telangana Today

Hyderabad, Feb 2026 : More than 52 lakh voters are set to exercise their franchise on Wednesday as polling takes place across 123 urban local bodies in Telangana, including 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations. Officials on Tuesday said that elaborate arrangements have been made by the State Election Commission (SEC) to ensure smooth, free and peaceful polling throughout the state.

According to the SEC, a total of 52,17,413 voters are eligible to cast their votes at 8,191 polling stations spread across urban areas. Polling will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with authorities urging voters to turn out in large numbers and participate in the democratic process.

To manage the large-scale exercise, the SEC has deployed 1,379 Returning Officers and as many as 41,773 polling personnel. State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini said that voters have been provided multiple facilities to ease the voting process. Voter slips can be downloaded through the SEC’s official website or via the TE-POLL mobile application, enabling voters to access details without difficulty.

The elections have drawn significant political interest, with a total of 12,944 candidates contesting for 2,981 wards across urban local bodies. Polling is being held for 2,569 wards in 116 municipalities. In nine municipalities, 12 candidates have already been elected unopposed, reflecting limited contest in certain areas.

However, polling for one ward in Makthal municipality of Narayanpet district has been postponed following the death of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, who reportedly died by suicide on Monday night. The SEC said further decisions regarding the postponed polling would be taken separately.

In the 116 municipalities, as many as 10,719 candidates are testing their political fortunes. These include 2,358 candidates from the ruling Congress, 2,478 from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and 2,252 from the BJP, while the rest represent smaller parties and independents. For municipal polls, 6,017 polling centres have been established to facilitate voting.

Polling is also underway for 412 wards in seven municipal corporations across the state. In these corporations, candidates in two wards—one each in Mahabubnagar and Ramagundam—have been elected unopposed. Authorities have set up 2,174 polling centres in these corporations. A total of 2,225 candidates are in the fray, including 410 from Congress, 401 from BRS, and 382 from the BJP.

Meanwhile, Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) B. Shivdhar Reddy said stringent security arrangements have been put in place to maintain law and order during polling. Police have identified 1,302 polling centres as highly problematic and another 1,926 as problematic, based on past incidents and local assessments. Additional police forces have been deployed at these sensitive locations.

To ensure transparency, webcasting has been arranged at all polling stations, while surveillance cameras have been installed outside polling centres in highly sensitive areas. Around 3,000 additional police personnel have been deployed across the state, and visible policing along with intensive patrolling has been stepped up, especially after the silent period came into effect at 5 p.m. on Monday with the end of the campaign.

Since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on January 27, police have conducted extensive checks and seizures. Officials said items worth Rs 3.09 crore have been seized so far, including Rs 1.29 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 1.21 crore, drugs valued at Rs 15.7 lakh, and gold and ornaments worth Rs 28.69 lakh.

To prevent illegal movement of cash and other inducements, 20 check posts have been set up along state borders and 55 at district borders. Special surveillance is being carried out along the borders with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In total, 181 flying squads and 167 static surveillance teams are on duty. As a precaution, 1,183 licensed weapons have been deposited, 4,318 individuals have been bound over, 398 non-bailable warrants executed, and 142 FIRs registered for election-related violations.