Rural Andhra Pradesh went to the polls on Thursday, 5 November, to elect members of Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs). Voting ran from 7 am to 5 pm across the state, and election officials put turnout at 58.55% by 3 pm. Votes will be counted on Saturday, 7 November.
The parishad elections are the second big local body test for the TDP-led NDA government in a matter of days, coming right after the urban local body polls earlier this month. Polling was largely peaceful, though clashes and disruptions were reported from a few booths.
AP MPTC, ZPTC elections 2026 in numbers
| Polling date | 5 November 2026, 7 am to 5 pm |
| Counting and results | 7 November 2026 |
| Repolling (if needed) | 6 November 2026 |
| ZPTC seats | 582 |
| MPTC seats | 7,767 |
| Total candidates | 21,012 (2,169 for ZPTC, 18,843 for MPTC) |
| Elected unopposed | 77 ZPTC and 2,051 MPTC members |
| Eligible voters | About 2.61 crore |
| Polling stations | Over 31,000 |
| Turnout by 3 pm | 58.55% (final figure awaited) |
Why the polling date moved to 5 November
The State Election Commission issued the election notification on 19 October, and the parishad polls were first planned for 3 November, with counting on 5 November. That changed after a Supreme Court order pushed polling for urban local bodies from 28 October to 1 November, which placed the urban counting on 3 November.
The commission said it did not have enough police and polling staff to handle both on the same day, so on 28 October it shifted the parishad polling to 5 November. The state government also declared holidays on 4 and 5 November. Cyclone Murasu, which hit the coast near Ongole earlier this week, disrupted preparations in districts like Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore and Tirupati, but polling went ahead across the state.
Security and arrangements
With 8,904 polling stations marked sensitive and 7,160 hyper-sensitive, around 40,000 police personnel were deployed. More than two lakh officials were on election duty. CCTV cameras, webcasting and videography were used to monitor voting at polling stations.
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha said polling was going on peacefully and that party agents were present in polling stations. In NTR district alone, 276 of the 280 MPTC seats went to polls, with four elected unopposed.
Incidents reported during polling
Despite the overall calm, a few incidents were reported. In Kalyanadurgam mandal of Anantapur district, polling at one booth stopped for about an hour after workers of rival parties clashed. At a booth in Kuderu mandal, ballot boxes and papers were reportedly thrown out of a polling station. Police reinforcements were rushed to villages in Kadapa and Tirupati districts after reports of trouble near polling booths.
Sadly, an Assistant Polling Officer on duty in Kuderu mandal died of a suspected heart attack. Some villages announced poll boycotts over local issues.
YSRCP alleges irregularities
The opposition YSRCP alleged that its polling agents were kept out of booths in some places and that voters were blocked. These remain allegations at this stage. Earlier, party chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had criticised the State Election Commission and described the local body process as "selections, not elections", pointing to the large number of seats decided unopposed.
What it means for Andhra Pradesh politics
Local body polls are a direct read on rural mood. In the urban local body elections held on 1 November, the TDP-led NDA alliance of TDP, Jana Sena and BJP won most of the 13 municipal corporations and most municipalities. In 2021, the YSRCP had swept all 13 corporations. A strong showing in the parishad polls would further consolidate the ruling alliance's grip at the grassroots, while the YSRCP will be hoping its rural base holds up.
What happens next
- 6 November: Repolling, if ordered, at any polling station where voting was disrupted.
- 7 November: Counting of votes and declaration of MPTC and ZPTC results.
- After results: Mandal Parishad Presidents and Zilla Parishad Chairpersons will be chosen through indirect elections. Dates are yet to be announced.
For voters, the results will decide who runs mandal and district-level development work such as rural roads, drinking water schemes, school buildings and the local share of welfare delivery for the next five years. That is why turnout and the final margins in each district will be watched closely by all parties.
ViralDose will bring you the results as counting progresses on Saturday.
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