Telangana Panchayat Elections: 52% Voter Turnout by 11 AM
Polling across Telangana sees steady voter participation, while minor clashes erupt between Congress and BRS leaders in Nalgonda; additional police forces deployed to prevent further disturbances.
Hyderabad: Polling for the first phase of the Telangana Panchayat Elections is underway across the state, with voters turning up in good numbers. A festive atmosphere prevailed in many villages as people queued up at polling centres. According to officials, a voter turnout of 52% was recorded by 11 AM.
Many voters working in towns and cities returned to their native villages to cast their vote. Authorities have arranged tight security to prevent any untoward incidents, while polling is being closely monitored through webcasting.
However, isolated clashes were reported in some areas. In Urumadla village of Chityal mandal, Nalgonda district, a heated argument broke out between former MLA Kancherla Bhoopal Reddy and Dairy Development Corporation Chairman Gutha Amit Reddy, representing the Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) respectively. Police intervened and dispersed both groups.
In Korlapahad of Kethepally mandal, tensions escalated as two groups allegedly attacked each other with stones and knives. Four people sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital. Following the incident, police forces were deployed in large numbers to maintain law and order.
Counting of votes will start at 2 p.m., immediately after the conclusion of polling, followed by the announcement of results. Subsequently, meetings with ward members will be held to conduct the election of deputy sarpanch positions.
In the initial notification, elections were announced for 4,236 sarpanch posts and 37,440 ward member seats. Of these, nominations were not filed for five sarpanch posts and 169 ward member positions. A total of 396 sarpanch posts and 9,633 ward member seats were declared unanimous. Additionally, one gram panchayat sarpanch election and ten ward member elections were stayed by the courts.
Excluding these, 12,960 candidates are contesting for 3,834 sarpanch posts, while 65,455 candidates are in the fray for 27,628 ward member seats. On average, there are 3.38 candidates per sarpanch post and 2.36 candidates per ward member seat.