About 70 per cent Voter Turnout in Telangana

Hyderabad: About 70 percent of 2.8 voters votes in the Telangana Assembly election on Friday as the polling ended on a peaceful note, barring minor incidents. Polling ended in 106 constituencies at 5 p.m. but those standing in queues were allowed to cast their votes. The exact poll percentage will be known after receipt of detailed reports from the districts, officials said in Hyderabad. Some 56.17 per cent voters had voted by 3 p.m.

Polling ended in 13 constituencies affected by Maoist violence at 4 p.m. This is the first full-fledged election in India’s youngest election. In the 2014 elections held in united Andhra Pradesh, Telangana had registered a voter turnout of 68.9 percent. The polling, which began on a dull note at 7 a.m., picked up after 9. Long queues of voters including women were seen especially in rural areas.

Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar said barring sporadic incidents, the polling was peaceful and smooth in all 32,815 polling stations across 31 districts. In some polling centres, the process started late due to technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Of the total electorate, nearly half are women. There were 1,821 candidates, including Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his 14 cabinet colleagues.

Tension prevailed in Kodangal constituency where the midnight arrest of Congress Working Ptesident Revanth Reddy on December 4 had triggered a huge row, leading to transfer of Vikarabad District Superintendent of Police by the Election Commission. Voters at several places complained that their names were missing from the voters’ list. Some voters staged protests after officials did not allow them to exercise their franchise in the absence of voter slips. (IANS)

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