Bhubaneswar/Jeypore: After successfully conducting panchayat elections at the disputed Kotia region in Koraput district despite protest from Odisha, the government of Andhra Pradesh has once again issued notification to hold election to the post of Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad members in the region.
According to a notification issued by the Andhra government, the neighboring State will conduct the polls on April 8 in single phase.
Andhra Pradesh had earlier held election for sarpanch in Kotia region on February 14 despite request by the Odisha government to refrain from electoral process.
The neighboring State executed its plan for rural election amid tight security even as the Koraput district administration had urged its Visakhapatnam counterpart to not to conduct the elections in the disputed border region of Kotia as the matter is currently sub-judice in the Supreme Court.
The polls were conducted at three disputed villages of Kotia- Talaganjeipadar, Phatuseneri and Phagunaseneri. These villages are the centre of five-decade old territorial dispute between the two States.
In many occasion, the Andhra Pradesh officials were seen distributing freebies to these villagers. Even construction of pucca roads in the region were also carried out by the neighboring State.