Telangana, the newest state of the country, witnessed a moderate polling percentage of 68.4 in the elections to its state assembly held by 5 pm on Friday, when the polling came to an end.
The percentage of polling might go up slightly, since the Election Commission has permitted voters, who were already in queue at the time of closure of polling hours, to exercise their franchise.
The total polling percentage is almost same to what was recorded in Telangana region in 2014 elections, which were held for the combined state of Andhra Pradesh. While Medak recorded the highest poll percentage of over 77%, Hyderabad recorded a very poor turn out of voters at the polling stations, recording only 56%.
In 13 assembly constituencies identified as sensitive in view of their proximity to Maoist-affected areas in the borders of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, the polling closed at 4 pm itself. These constituencies are: Sirpur, Chennur, Bellampalli, Mancherial, Asifabad, Bhupalpalli, Mulugu, Pinapaka, Yellandu, Ashwaraopet, Kothagudem, Bhadrachalam and Manthani. As per the tentative estimates, these 13 constituencies recorded 65-70 per cent polling till the closing hours.
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“Polling went on peacefully without any law and order problem in these constituencies. We shall take all precautions till the Electronic Voting Machines and other equipment reaches the strong rooms safely, Director General of Police M Mahender Reddy said.
TRS president and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed confidence that his party would come back to power in Telangana with a huge majority. “The mood of the people is very positive towards the TRS and we shall win hands down,” KCR said after casting his vote at his native village in Chintamadaka of Siddipet district in the afternoon.
Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said Maha Kootami was going to form the next government in Telangana. “According to the inputs we have received, we shall get 80 seats,” he claimed in the evening.
Except sporadic incidents of minor clashes, the polling in the rest of the Telangana also went on peacefully. In Amangal of Kalwakurthy constituency, some BJP workers allegedly pelted stones at Congress candidate Ch Vamsichand Reddy. An injured Reddy shifted to Hyderabad for treatment.
At Indiranagar police station, there was a clash between Bharatiya Janata Party agent and the TRS workers, when the former objected to former minister and TRS candidate from Khairatabad Danam Nagender coming to Indiranagar polling station wearing pink scarf, symbolising the TRS. BJP candidate Ch Ramachandra Reddy lodges complaint with EC and the police against the TRS leaders.
Also Read: Election exit polls results 2018 LIVE updates: Surveys say KCR is king in Telangana, Cong snatches Rajasthan
At Vellatur village of Huzurnagar constituency represented by Telangana PCC chief Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy, voters roughed up a poling official who forced a disabled voter to exercise his vote to a party against his will. The official admitted to have cast five votes in the name of helping elderly and disabled voters.
At Tirumalagiri of Tungaturthi constituency, the voters expressed anger at the presiding officer for locking the polling booth in the afternoon for lunch. They alerted the higher officials who rushed to the spot and opened the polling station.
Apart from the issue of faulty EVMs which delayed voting by up to two hours in several polling stations in Telangana, there were complaints of missing names of voters at several places. Ace badminton player Jwala Gutta also fumed at the authorities on finding that her name was missing in the electoral list.
At several places, people whose names were missing from the voters’ list protested at the polling stations. In Kamareddy district, about 300 people sat on the road, holding up their voter ID cards to register their protest. In Khairtabad constituency, too, more than 100 voters protested at the polling station after their names were found deleted from the voters’ list.
Former Maoist ideologue and balladeer Gaddar exercised his franchise for the first time in his life. The 70-year old singer got himself registered as a voter in April last. After casting his vote at Venkatapuram, Gaddar said vote was also a powerful weapon to bring change in the society. “It can herald a new revolution in the country,” he said.
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First Published: Dec 07, 2018 21:30 IST
Source: HindustanTimes