Andhra Pradesh municipal polls moved to November 1; counting on November 3
By Meera IyerGovernance & Policy Editor, Peepals Bharat
Representative image: balouriarajesh / Pixabay
Andhra Pradesh's election commission has moved urban local body polls from October 28 to November 1, 2026 and reopened nominations in four bodies after the Supreme Court's direction.
What Happened
The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) has moved polling for urban local bodies (ULBs) from October 28 to Sunday, November 1, 2026, with counting of votes on Tuesday, November 3. The commission took the decision after the Supreme Court, on October 21, directed it to examine complaints that some candidates had been unable to file nominations. As part of the revised schedule, fresh nominations are being accepted on October 23 and 24 in Kadapa and Tirupati municipal corporations, Rajampet municipality and Mydukur municipality.
Key Facts
- New polling date: November 1, 2026, from 7 am to 5 pm, for the ULBs covered by the election programme, reported as 100 bodies.
- Repolling, if needed at any station: November 2, during the same hours.
- Counting of votes: November 3, from 8 am.
- Original polling date: October 28, set in the commission's October 14 announcement.
- Fresh nominations: October 23 and 24 in specified wards of Kadapa Municipal Corporation, Rajampet Municipality and Tirupati Municipal Corporation, and in all 32 wards of Mydukur Municipality.
- Scrutiny of the fresh nominations and publication of the final list of candidates: October 25.
- The Supreme Court's directions came on a petition by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and individual candidates, who alleged that intimidation had stopped some from filing papers during the original October 16 to 18 window.
Why It Matters
Urban local body elections decide who runs city corporations and municipalities: the councillors who approve budgets for roads, drains, water supply and sanitation, and who choose mayors and chairpersons. A delay of four days may seem small, but it changes the plans of parties, candidates, officials and voters across the state, and it follows directions from the Supreme Court in a state civic election.
At the heart of the matter is the right to contest. If candidates cannot file nominations because of threats or violence, voters in those wards lose a real choice. The YSRCP and several candidates told the Supreme Court that this happened in some places. The court did not cancel the elections; it asked the commission to examine the complaints. The commission's response, reopening nominations for 48 hours in four bodies and shifting the polling date for the whole programme so that all ULBs vote on the same day, is an attempt to fix the problem without starting the process again.
For voters, the practical message is simple: the polling day is now November 1, not October 28. In Kadapa, Tirupati, Rajampet and Mydukur, the list of candidates may also change once the fresh nominations are scrutinised on October 25.
| Stage | Original | Revised |
|---|---|---|
| Polling | October 28 | November 1 |
| Repoll (if needed) | - | November 2 |
| Counting | - | November 3 |
| Fresh nominations (four ULBs) | - | October 23-24 |
| Final candidate list (four ULBs) | - | October 25 |
Impact
Short-term: Election staff will reorganise polling arrangements, and parties will extend their campaigns by four days. In the four bodies where nominations reopened, new candidates may enter the race, and wards that might have been decided without a contest may now see one.
Long-term: The episode shows how complaints about nominations can be taken up before polling, through the courts and the election commission, rather than only in election petitions afterwards. The councils elected after the November 3 count will then choose mayors and chairpersons to run their cities.
Who is affected: Voters and candidates in Andhra Pradesh's urban local bodies, especially in Kadapa, Tirupati, Rajampet and Mydukur, political parties contesting the polls, election staff and police on poll duty, and residents who depend on municipal services.
Key Takeaway
Andhra Pradesh's urban local body polls will now be held on November 1, 2026, with counting on November 3, after the Supreme Court asked the election commission to examine complaints and nominations were reopened in four bodies.
Questions and Answers
When are the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections now?
Polling for the urban local bodies is now on November 1, 2026, from 7 am to 5 pm, with any repoll on November 2 and counting on November 3 from 8 am.
Why were the Andhra Pradesh municipal polls postponed?
After a Supreme Court direction on October 21, 2026, the State Election Commission examined complaints that some candidates could not file nominations, reopened nominations in four bodies and moved the polling date from October 28 to November 1.
Where were nominations reopened?
In specified wards of Kadapa Municipal Corporation, Rajampet Municipality and Tirupati Municipal Corporation, and in all 32 wards of Mydukur Municipality, on October 23 and 24.
When will the final list of candidates be out in those four places?
The fresh nominations are to be scrutinised and the final list of contesting candidates published on October 25, 2026.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Meera Iyer, Governance & Policy EditorCovers Governance & Policy and more for Peepals Bharat. All stories by Meera Iyer
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Meera Iyer is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
