Telangana voter turnout 52.34 per cent, Andhra 55.49 per cent

Hyderabad/Amaravati, May 13 (IANS) Telangana recorded 52.34 per cent polling and Andhra Pradesh 55.49 per cent polling by 3 p.m. on Monday, the Election Commission said.

Polling was underway in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana while voters in Andhra Pradesh are exercising their franchise for both the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats of the state.

In Telangana, Zahirabad recorded the highest turnout of 63.96 per cent, followed by 63.67 per cent in Khammam, and 62.44 per cent in Nalgonda.

The lowest polling of 29.47 per cent was recorded in the Hyderabad constituency. Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency also saw only 34.58 per cent turnout in six hours.

In the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly segment, where the by-election is being held, 39.92 per cent of voters cast their votes till 3 p.m. The vacancy arose following the death of sitting MLA Lasya Nanditha of BRS in a road accident in February 2024, just three months after she was elected in the Assembly elections.

A little over 3.17 crore voters will decide the political fortunes of 525 candidates in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies. Polling in 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected segments under five Lok Sabha constituencies came to an end at 4 p.m.

The process will continue till 6 p.m. in 106 Assembly segments.

Telangana had recorded a turnout of 71.34 per cent during the Assembly elections held in November 2023.

In Andhra Pradesh, 55.49 per cent of voters cast their votes till 3 p.m. for simultaneous elections to the 175-member state Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.

Among Parliamentary constituencies, the Chittoor (SC) constituency recorded the highest polling of 61.43 per cent while the lowest was 47.66 per cent in Visakhapatnam. More than 4.14 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes at 46,389 centres to decide the political fortunes of 2,841 candidates.

Polling was marred by sporadic incidents of violence in the state. There were clashes between supporters of the YSRCP and the TDP in a few places. In the Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) affected segments of Araku, Paderu and Rampachodavaram, the polling concluded at 4 p.m. while in three other LWE-affected segments of Palakonda, Kurupam, and Salur it will conclude at 5 p.m.

The balloting in 169 Assembly segments will continue till 6 p.m. Poll officials said those standing in queues at 6 p.m. will be allowed to cast votes.

In the 2019 elections, the state had recorded 79.84 per cent polling. Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena leader and actor Pawan Kalyan are among 2,387 candidates for 175 Assembly seats.

For the 25 Lok Sabha seats, 454 contestants are in the fray and the prominent among them are former Union Minister and state BJP chief D. Purandeswari (Rajahmundry), state Congress President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy (Kadapa), and former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy (BJP, Rajampet).

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