New Delhi: 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:
Dec 07, 2018 19:47 (IST)
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.
Dec 07, 2018 19:00 (IST)
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.
Dec 07, 2018 18:45 (IST)
Nearly 67% interim voter turnout recorded, says Election Commission. The polling percentage in 2013 was 69.5%.
Dec 07, 2018 18:37 (IST)
Voting still on in some areas of Telangana, says Election Commission.
Dec 07, 2018 18:31 (IST)
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.
Dec 07, 2018 18:24 (IST)
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.
Dec 07, 2018 18:23 (IST)
About 70 per cent of voter turnout recorded in Telangana as polling ends on a peaceful note, barring minor incidents.
Dec 07, 2018 17:11 (IST)
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."
Dec 07, 2018 17:11 (IST)
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."
Dec 07, 2018 15:55 (IST)
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.
Dec 07, 2018 13:40 (IST)
48.1 per cent voter turnout till 1 PM in Telangana.
