Hyderabad: Polling for the second phase of Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana began on Sunday at 7 am under strict security and will continue until 1 pm, with counting scheduled from 2 pm.

The second phase covers 3,911 Sarpanch seats and 29,917 Ward Member posts across 193 mandals, with over 57.22 lakh voters (29.26 lakh women and 27.96 lakh men) deciding the fate of 12,782 Sarpanch and 71,071 Ward Member candidates.

The State Election Commission (SEC) had initially notified 4,333 Sarpanch and 38,350 Ward Member seats. Of these, 415 Sarpanch and 8,307 Ward Member candidates were elected unopposed, while 108 Ward Member posts received no nominations. Elections are not being held in two Gram Panchayats and 18 Wards.

For the second phase, the SEC deployed 4,593 returning officers, 30,66

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