Is Polling Taking Place for Municipal Elections in Telangana? Over 52 Lakh Voters to Determine the Fate of 12,944 Candidates
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Hyderabad, Feb 11 (NationPress) Polling is currently ongoing for the municipal elections across 116 municipalities and seven corporations in Telangana, under stringent security measures this Wednesday.
Voting commenced at 7 a.m. across 8,191 polling stations and will conclude by 5 p.m., according to officials from the State Election Commission (SEC).
Eligible voters totaling 52,17,413 are set to participate in this democratic exercise across 2,981 wards within the 123 urban local bodies.
The SEC has mobilized 1,379 Returning Officers and 41,773 polling staff to facilitate the voting process, which includes webcasting at all polling locations.
State Election Commissioner Rani Kumudini has urged all eligible citizens to make their voices heard by casting their votes. Voters can obtain their voter slips via the SEC website or the TE-POLL app.
In total, 12,944 candidates are vying for electoral success in these elections.
Polling is being conducted for 2,569 wards in the 116 municipalities, with twelve candidates in nine municipalities having been declared elected unopposed.
The SEC has postponed voting for a specific ward in the Makthal municipality in Narayanpet district due to the tragic suicide of a BJP candidate on Monday night.
Within 116 municipalities, 10,719 candidates are contesting, including 2,358 representatives from the ruling Congress party, 2,478 from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and 2,252 from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to officials, there are 6,017 polling centres designated for the municipal elections.
Voting is also taking place in 412 wards within the seven municipal corporations. In these areas, candidates in two wards in Mahabubnagar and Ramagundam were elected unopposed.
The authorities have established 2,174 polling centres across the seven corporations, with 2,225 candidates participating, including 410 from Congress, 401 from BRS, and 382 from BJP.
Director General of Police B. Shivdhar Reddy has confirmed that extensive security measures are in place for the polling day, with approximately 3,000 additional police personnel deployed to ensure law and order.
The police have categorized 1,302 polling centres as highly problematic and 1,926 centres as problematic, with extra forces assigned to these locations.
Should there be a need for repolling, it will occur on Thursday, with vote counting scheduled for the following day.
Furthermore, municipal chairpersons and vice-chairpersons are set to be elected on February 16.