Towns vote for the chair. Mandals still elect the chair in the room.

This is not the Assembly election. This is the election that decides who runs the village, the mandal, the district rural house, and the town.

The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission runs it. Not the national Election Commission. On 19 August, from Amaravati, State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha told collectors the day-count. On the same day the government issued G.O. Rt. No. 1065. The notification that starts nominations has not been issued. Until that paper is out, nobody has a last date for Form B.

Think of three rural floors and one urban floor.

Village. You elect the ward member and the sarpanch. You vote. That is direct. The SEC said polling for gram panchayats is on the 14th day after the notification. Counting follows the Commission’s rules.

Mandal. You elect the MPTC — the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency member. You vote. That is direct. Polling is on the 16th day after the notification. The result is on the 19th day. The MPP, the Mandal Praja Parishad President, is different. The people do not vote for the MPP on polling day. The elected MPTCs sit, and they elect a President and one Vice-President from among themselves, by show of hands, obeying the party whip. That is Section 153 of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. On 20 August the Assembly passed the Panchayat Raj (Second Amendment) Bill, 2026, to keep only one Vice-President. The date of that sitting is not on any gazette.

District. You elect the ZPTC — the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency member. Some people say JPTC. The legal letters are ZPTC. Again, you vote. Direct. Same 16th-day poll, 19th-day result. The Zilla Parishad Chairperson is not on that ballot. After the ZPTC results are published, the elected members meet and elect a Chairperson and one Vice-Chairperson. That is Section 181. The Second Amendment keeps one Vice-Chairperson, not two. The sitting date is not notified.

Town. This part changed this week. The Assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2026. The Mayor of a municipal corporation, and the Chairperson of a municipality or a nagar panchayat, will be elected by the people, not by the councillors. You will cast two votes in that booth: one for the ward member, one for the Mayor or the municipal Chairperson. The SEC said urban polling is on the 15th day after the notification. The result is on the 18th day. The election of the chair happens at the same time and place as the election of members.

How a candidate applies. Wait for the SEC notification. That paper names the Returning Officer, the forms, and every last date. A recognised-party candidate needs Form B — the party’s authorisation — and files it with the nomination. An independent does not file Form B. You file for one post you are eligible for. Sarpanch, ward, MPTC, ZPTC, municipal ward, Mayor, municipal Chairperson: you ask the voters. MPP and Zilla Parishad Chairperson: you do not file a public nomination on polling day. You must first be an elected MPTC or ZPTC. Then the house votes.

Form B last date: not announced. Nomination last date: not announced. Withdrawal last date: not announced. Anyone printing those dates today is guessing.

What is on paper. G.O. Rt. No. 1065 clears ordinary elections in 100 of 123 urban local bodies. Eighty-seven councils have already finished their term. Thirteen more end in November. Twenty-three wait on court files. The Cabinet has said 33.33 per cent BC reservation in towns and 34 per cent in rural bodies. Ward-wise photo rolls for municipal corporations are to be published on 3 September. The qualifying date used for those rolls is 1 January 2026. Gram panchayat polling-station lists follow SEC Circular 25/SEC-B2/2026: draft ready by 21 August, published on 23 August, objections till 26 August, Collector’s approval on 29 August, final list on 31 August.

The rhyme is short. Notice first. Then count. Villages poll on day 14. Towns on day 15. MPTC and ZPTC on day 16. The municipal chair is now a people’s vote. The MPP and the Zilla Parishad chair are still elected in the room.