Significant Number of Votes Rendered Invalid in Telangana Graduates' MLC Election
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Synopsis
In Hyderabad, over 21,000 votes were invalidated during the Telangana Legislative Council election for the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar Graduates’ constituency. Many invalid votes resulted from improper markings on ballots, leading to concerns over voter awareness of the preferential voting system.
Key Takeaways
- Over 21,000 votes declared invalid due to incorrect markings.
- Counting process includes sorting 2.10 lakh votes.
- High invalid vote count attributed to voter awareness issues.
- First preference votes counting will begin post sorting.
- Direct competition between Congress and BJP for constituency.
Hyderabad, March 4 (NationPress) Over 21,000 votes have been deemed invalid in the Telangana Legislative Council election for the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar Graduates’ constituency, where the vote counting is ongoing for the second day as of Tuesday.
The counting personnel completed the sorting of 2.10 lakh votes, with another 40,000 votes still being sorted.
Among the sorted votes, 1.89 lakh votes were verified as valid. A total of 21,000 votes were marked invalid, primarily due to incorrect markings on the ballot papers.
Election Commission officials stated that numerous voters indicated their preferences using words rather than figures, leading to their votes being invalidated.
A cumulative total of 2,50,106 voters participated in the Graduates' MLC elections on February 27, impacting the prospects of 56 candidates.
Several candidates attributed the high number of invalid votes to a lack of adequate awareness among voters regarding the preferential voting system.
The counting of first-choice votes will commence once the sorting process concludes. Candidates who receive more than 50 percent of first preference votes will be declared elected. If no candidates win in the first round, the counting of second preference votes will proceed.
The ruling Congress party and the opposition BJP are engaged in a direct competition in this constituency, which is currently represented by senior Congress figure and former minister T. Jeevan Reddy.
The Congress nominated V. Narender Reddy to contest against BJP's C. Anji Reddy.
In the election on February 27, a turnout of 70.4 percent of voters was recorded.
Polling also occurred that day for the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar and Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda teachers' constituencies.
BJP-supported candidate Malka Komaraiah won the election from the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar teachers' constituency, which spans across 15 districts.
He secured victory by over 5,700 first preference votes against his closest competitor, Vanga Mahender Reddy of the PRTU (TS).
Komaraiah received 12,959 votes, while Mahender Reddy garnered 7,182 votes. Of the total 25,041 votes cast, around 897 votes were declared invalid.
The PRTU (TS) won the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda seat, with candidate P. Sripal Reddy emerging victorious through second-preference votes, securing 13,969 votes. The sitting MLC Narsi Reddy of UTF placed second.
A total of 19 candidates contested in this constituency, with 24,135 out of 25,797 voters casting their votes.
The BJP, fielding candidates in all three constituencies, celebrated its success in the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar teachers' constituency.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar remarked that teachers placed their trust in the BJP, alleging a secret understanding between Congress and BRS, which failed to defeat the BJP.
Bandi Sanjay, who serves as a Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar, declared that the BJP is poised to gain power in Telangana in the near future.
