Telangana Elections 2018: Over 2.8 crore people are expected to cast their vote today.
Voting was underway for 119 seats in Telangana assembly elections. The elections will decide the political fortunes of 1,821 candidates in the first full-fledged election in India''s youngest state.
Election commission made elaborate arrangements for a smooth conduct of the polling process in 32,815 polling stations. A total of 280,747,22 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise. They include 1,41,56,182 men and 1,39,05,811 women. The electorate also include 10,038 service voters and 249 overseas Indian electors.
For the first time, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were installed across the state. After a voter casts their vote on EVM, VVPAT attached to the machine will display for seven seconds the choice made by them.
The elections are expected to be a direct contest between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Congress-led People''s Front. The opposition alliance also includes Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS).
Polling was held from 7 am to 5 pm in 106 constituencies while in 13 constituencies, affected by Maoist violence, polling concluded at 4 pm. Counting of votes will be taken up on December 11.
Here are the highlights from Telangana assembly elections:
Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, Rajat Kumar, on Shuttler Jwala Gutta's name missing from voter list: We are asking for a final report from the Electoral Registration Officer.
On missing names from the voters' list in Telangana, the Election Commission says it has done its work and the people who were not at home, their names were deleted.
Nearly 67% interim voter turnout recorded, says Election Commission. The polling percentage in 2013 was 69.5%.
Voting still on in some areas of Telangana, says 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.
Polling ended in 106 constituencies at 5 pm 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.
About 70 per cent of voter turnout recorded in Telangana as polling ends on a peaceful note, barring minor incidents.
Two voters died at polling booths in two different incidents during the Telangana Assembly election. A 55-year-old man collapsed and died while waiting at a polling centre at Pydipalli village in Warangal Urban district.
An elderly voter died of cardiac arrest at a polling booth in Gundrampalli village of Nalgonda district.
Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy alleges his party candidate in Kalwakurthy Assembly segment, Vamsichand Reddy, was attacked by the Bharatiya Janata Party cadre in Amangal where he had gone to observe the poll pattern.
However, the BJP's chief spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao has denied the allegation saying the Congress is "playing victim games sensing disastrous defeat."
Chief Electoral Officer says the district electoral officer is inquiring into the matter.
According to news agency ANI, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, after a meeting with the Election Commission, says: "We have demanded immediate action against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for influencing voters through paid news under the garb of his interview in a Hyderabad newspaper on December 6."
Additional director General (Law and order) Jitender has said about one lakh police personnel, including 20,000 drawn from other states and 25,000 central paramilitary forces, are engaged in poll duties.
"Polling commenced at 7am, though at some polling centres there was a delay of 10 to 15 minutes. In one or two cases, EVMs needed to be replaced. We have replaced 22 ballot units, 19 control units and 42 VVPATS," Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar says.
He says so far, 30 complaints relating to violation of Model Code of Conduct have been received.
According to officials, voting is progressing by and large peacefully in all the 119 constituencies of the state and as of 3pm, the voter turnout was 56.17 per cent.
KCR Confident Of Coming Back To Power In Telangana
TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao exuded confidence that his party would come back to power in Telangana with a "huge majority."
There is a "very, very positive" mood among voters towards the party, KCR, as Rao is popularly known as, told reporters at his native village Chintamadaka where he cast his vote in the Assembly polls.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti is going alone in the polls.
The principal challenger to TRS in the polls is the 'People's Front' forged by Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti.
48.1 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM in Telangana.
KT Rama Rao, son of Chief minister KCR, has cast his vote. The TS leader is contesting for the third time from Sircilla constituency, which is about 140 kms from the state capital Hyderabad, in the December 7 assembly polls. He had won with a margin of over 53,000 votes against his Congress rival in the 2014 assembly elections.
BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya casts vote at polling booth in Ramnagar of Musheerabad constituency in Hyderabad. (ANI)
Voter Arrested For Taking Selfie Inside Polling Booth In Hyderabad
A man was arrested for taking selfie inside a a polling centre in Rajendranagar constituency in Greater Hyderabad, said news agency IANS.
Officials said the voter, identified as Shiv Shankar, was arrested under Representation of People's Act for violating secrecy of voting.
The use of mobile phones inside the polling booths is prohibited. The election authorities have asked voters not to carry mobile phones inside the polling centres.
The Election Commission has cautioned the voters, especially the first time voters against taking selfies inside the polling booths. Officials said the voters were free to take selfies with their inked finger after coming out of the booths.
Film personalities add glitz to Telangana pollsMany Telugu lead actors and producers turned up in good numbers to cast vote.
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, popular Telugu hero Nagarjuna and director of 'Baahubali' S S Rajamouli were among the early voters.
Another leading Telugu film star Allu Arjun also queued up to vote.
Telangana Chief Secretary SK Joshi at a polling booth early this morning. He later tweeted a picture with his inked finger.
Legislative Assembly elections are being held for the first time in Telangana after its formation as the 2014 Assembly polls were held in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Voting turnout recorded till 9.30 am in Telangana is 10.15%.
TRS MP K Kavitha stands in a queue to cast vote at polling booth no. 177 in Pothangal, Nizamabad. Ms Kavitha is the daughter of party chief K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Actor Chiranjeevi stands in a queue to cast vote at polling booth no. 148 in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. (ANI)
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi casts vote at polling booth no. 317 at Mailardevpally, Shastripuram.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha member has said the TRS would form a government on its own. "No, we will not join the government. I am pretty much sure that the people of Telangana will bless KCR (as caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is referred to by many) again. He will form the government. We will not join the government", he said.
AIMIM, which won seven seats in the 2014 Assembly elections, has fielded eight candidates this time.
Many Telugu actors have cast votes since voting began at 7 am. Actor Nithiin was among the early voters and urged people to exercise their franchise.
Indian shuttler Jwala Gutta has failed to cast vote today as her name was missing from the voting list.
The elections are expected to be a close contest between KCT's Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the opposition Congress-led People's Front.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is contesting all seats on its own, is the third key force in some constituencies.
The Bahujan Left Front (BLD) led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are also contesting majority of the seats.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is contesting eight seats in Hyderabad.
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyan Srihari cast his vote in Warangal.
BJP's G Kishan Reddy casts his vote at polling booth no.7 in Kachiguda, Hyderabad.
Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary IT & Industries, voted at Kundhanbagh, Hyderabad.
Actor Nagarjuna and his wife Amala Akkineni were among the early voters. The couple were seen at booth no. 151 in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
The actor also appealed to people to cast their vote. "Voting is important. People should come and vote. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain," the actor told NDTV.
Actor Nagarjuna and his wife Amala Akkineni were among the early voters. The couple were seen at booth no. 151 in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
Actor Allu Arjun also cast his vote at booth no. 152 in Jubilee Hills.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to people to vote in large numbers.
State Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao casts his vote in Siddipet constituency. Mr Rao is the nephew of TRS founder and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Siddipet constituency is a TRS stronghold. Mr Rao has won from this seat in five consecutive Assembly elections including those held in the then undivided Andhra Pradesh.
BJP President Amit Shah has appealed to voters in Telangana to exercise their franchise. BJP fought the 2014 Assembly polls in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), winning five seats. This time, it is going it alone.
33,000 polling stations have been set up across 31 districts
Over 1.6 lakh election officials have been deployed in the state to ensure that no difficulties are experienced when an expected 2.8 crore people arrive to vote between 7 am and 5 pm. The Election Commission has set up 33,000 polling stations across 31 districts of the state.
A total of 1,821 candidates, including 135 women, are in the fray. The results will be declared on December 11, along with that of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.
Telangana assembly was dissolved in September
The Telangana legislative assembly was dissolved in September - eight months before the expiry of its term.
The previous assembly elections were held soon after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014. Back then, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had led his party to a decisive victory -- winning 63 seats out of 119 with a vote share of 34 per cent. In the years that followed, the regional party managed to lure legislators from opposition ranks until its seat share rose to a formidable 90.
Mr Rao hopes to achieve similar success this time. It is believed that his decision to dissolve the assembly early was aimed at taking up the electoral challenge while he still holds the people's favour.
The elections are expected to be a close contest between the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Congress-led People''s Front.
While KCR's party won 63 seats last time against the 21 seats of Congress and 15 of Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, data from the last election shows a 2 per cent vote swing may change the outcome of the election. Mr Rao had a good equation with Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which won 7 seats in the last election.
Over 2.8 crore people are eligible to vote
A total of 280,747,22 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. They include 1,41,56,182 men and 1,39,05,811 women. The electorate also include 10,038 service voters and 249 overseas Indian electors.
VVPAT machines installed for first time in Telangana
For the first time, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were being installed across the state. After a voter casts his vote on EVM, VVPAT attached to the machine will display for seven seconds the choice made by the voter.
Election commission has made elaborate arrangements for a smooth conduct of the polling process in 32,815 polling stations.
Assembly elections for 119 seats of Telangana will be held today. The elections will decide the political fortunes of 1,821 candidates in the first full-fledged election in India''s youngest state.