The story so far: The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission issued a notification on October 19, 2026, for elections to the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), scheduled for November 3.
The decision to hold the elections in the Kotia group of villages, whose jurisdiction has been disputed by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha since Independence, triggered protests across the political spectrum in Odisha.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Congress, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Andhra Pradesh of undermining Odisha’s territorial integrity. The Odisha government said on October 23, 2026, that it had filed a contempt of court petition against the Andhra Pradesh government in the Supreme Court challenging the notification for the forthcoming election in Kotia.
Why Kotia is disputed?
As many as 21 villages in the Kotia group, under Pottangi Tahasil of Odisha’s Koraput district, have been at the centre of a territorial dispute with Andhra Pradesh since 1955.
According to an Odisha government brief on the dispute, Odisha exercised administrative control over these villages from 1936. The dispute surfaced in 1955, two years after the formation of Andhra Province, when Andhra Pradesh officials attempted to collect land revenue from the villages. Odisha protested through its Chief Secretary, but Andhra Pradesh countered that it had been collecting revenue there since 1947 and that residents had participated in the State’s 1954 elections.
In 1959, Andhra Pradesh cited a 1942 boundary demarcation by M. Gilby, Assistant Director of Survey, Madras Province, claiming it had been carried out with Odisha’s consent. Odisha rejected the claim, arguing that Gilby had wrongly assumed his demarcation conformed to the Government of India (Constitution of Orissa) Order, 1936. Both States held general elections in the disputed area in 1967.
Amid the impasse, the then Union Home Minister convened a conciliatory meeting on September 12, 1968. It failed to resolve the dispute, with the Minister reportedly observing that Odisha’s claim would be difficult to sustain in view of the acceptance of Gilby’s report.
The legal recourse
Odisha moved the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution on November 14, 1968. Talks between the two Chief Ministers in 1978 also proved inconclusive.
On March 30, 2006, the Supreme Court disposed of the original suit, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute because of the proviso to Article 131. It directed that the status quo should be maintained until the dispute was taken up by an appropriate authority in accordance with law. According to legal experts, issues under Article 131 of the Constitution are resolved only by Parliament. Odisha’s review petition in 2006 and curative petition in 2007 were also dismissed, effectively closing the door to further judicial scrutiny through those proceedings.
The dispute resurfaced in 2021 when Andhra Pradesh, on February 13, 2021, notified a Gram Panchayat election in Phatusineri (Pattuchennuru). Odisha approached the Supreme Court with a contempt petition, alleging a violation of the status quo order. Andhra Pradesh subsequently notified elections to MPTC and ZPTC seats in Kotia, scheduled for April 8, 2021, prompting another contempt petition by Odisha seeking an injunction against the neighbouring State and its officials.
The two Chief Ministers met again in 2021 amid renewed tensions, but the talks skirted the contentious jurisdictional issue and ended with a general assurance of cooperation.
In 2023, Odisha again approached the Supreme Court seeking adjudication of the Kotia dispute. In the latest proceedings, Odisha has filed its response to objections raised by Andhra Pradesh.
Present contempt petition
Fabi Rasheed, Koraput Sub-Collector, said the District Collector filed a fresh contempt petition in the Supreme Court, alleging Andhra Pradesh violated the 2006 status quo order.
Meanwhile, a BJD delegation visited Kotia and criticised the Mohan Charan Majhi government, alleging that the Kotia issue had been completely mishandled by the administration. A Congress delegation led by its state president, Bhakta Charan Das, is scheduled to visit Kotia on Tuesday (October 27, 2026).
In order to win over the people of Kotia, both the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments are spending heavily. While the Odisha government is emphasising creating infrastructures such as opening educational institutes, laying roads and bridges and creating other government institutions, Andhra Pradesh is focusing on getting children of Kotia admitted in schools situated in its jurisdiction and distributing pensionary benefits.