64.93 pc polling in Telangana's 17 LS constituencies

Hyderabad, May 14 (IANS) A voter turnout of 64.93 per cent was recorded in Telangana, where polling was held May 13 for all 17 Lok Sabha seats.

Past midnight, the Election Commission put the estimated turnout at 64.93 per cent. The final figure is likely to be announced later in the day.

The polling percentage was 61.16 per cent till 5 p.m. and though the polling came to an end at 6 p.m., those standing in queues were allowed to cast their votes.

According to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj, the polling process continued even after 6 p.m. at 1,300 to 1,400 polling stations.

Telangana had recorded a turnout of 71.34 per cent during the Assembly elections held in November 2023. The turnout was 62.11 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

A little over 3.17 crore voters, half of them women, were eligible to cast their votes across the state on Monday.

Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency recorded the highest turnout of 76.47 per cent. Hyderabad saw the lowest polling of 46.08 per cent.

Urban constituencies saw lower polling than rural areas. In Secunderabad, the turnout was 48.11 per cent. Malkajgiri and Chevella recorded 50.12 per cent and 55.45 per cent polling respectively.

The CEO said there were no problems on the law-and-order side too. He said 38 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered on Monday for various reasons and against different political parties.

In 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected segments under five Lob Sabha constituencies the polling ended at 4 p.m. In the remaining 106 segments it continued till 6 p.m.

The political future of 525 candidates in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies has been sealed in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They will have to wait till June 4 to know the outcome.

Votes were also polled for by-election to the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat, a part of the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency.

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.

Fifteen candidates were in the fray for the Assembly by-election. The constituency registered 50.34 per cent polling.

Barring minor incidents, the polling passed off peacefully across the state. BJP’s Hyderabad candidate K. Madhavi Latha was booked by the police after she checked the identity of some burka-clad Muslim women voters at a polling station in Malakpet and asked them to the off their veils.

A total of 35,809 polling stations were set up in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies for the polling.

Secunderabad constituency has a maximum number of candidates at 45. A total of 44 candidates are in the fray in Medak, followed by 43 in Chevella and 42 each in Peddapalle (SC) and Warangal (SC) constituencies. There are only 12 candidates in the Adilabad (ST) constituency.

Union Minister and state BJP president G. Kishan Reddy is seeking re-election from Secunderabad. BJP national general secretary and sitting MP from Karimnagar, Bandi Sanjay Kumar is contesting again from the same seat. BJP national vice president D. K. Aruna is contesting Mahabubnagar.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking re-election for a fifth consecutive term from Hyderabad.

In the 2019 elections, BRS had won nine seats while BJP had bagged four seats. Congress could win three seats while AIMIM had retained the lone seat.