Telangana polling drops by 2.54 % to 70.79 % from 2018; Hyderabad lowest at 46.56 %: CEO Vikas Raj
Yadadri- Bhuvanagiri district recorded the highest voter turnout with 90.03 per cent, while Hyderabad recorded an abysmal 46.56 per cent as compared to 50.31 per cent in 2018
HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj has said that the State recorded an average voter turnout of 70.79 percent in the polling conducted across 119 Assembly constituencies on Thursday.
Disclosing the polling details before the media at his office here on Friday, Vikas Raj said that when compared with the 2018 Assembly elections, voter turnout in the State was reduced by 2.54 percent in the 2023 Assembly elections. Yadadri- Bhuvanagiri district recorded the highest voter turnout with 90.03 percent, while Hyderabad recorded an abysmal 46.56 percent as compared to 50.31 percent in 2018, he said.
“At present, the officials are verifying the details of votes polled, and it will be completed in a couple of hours. Clearance of the total voter turnout can be expected. Almost 75 percent voting turnout was recorded in 79 Assembly constituencies," Vikas Raj said.
Reacting to the response of the Congress to conduct re-polling in a few constituencies in the State, Vikas Raj said that there was no scope for re-polling in the State. The polling concluded peacefully in Telangana on Thursday. The ‘Vote for Home’ option, for elderly and physically challenged voters, yielded the desired results in the polls, he added.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that a polling centre was arranged in Devarakadra even for 10 voters. In a few polling centres, EVMs were replaced after technical glitches. "We are making foolproof arrangements for vote counting at 49 counters, including 14 in Hyderabad on December 3,2023. EVMs are shifted to the strong rooms and scrutiny procedure began on Friday,” he said and added that forces from 40 central companies would be deployed on duties near the strong rooms.
Informing the preparedness on counting day, Vikas Raj said that the counting procedure would begin at 8 am on Sunday and the officials would count the votes in the EVMs from 8:30 am. Five officials would be deployed for each table. Every round would be counted as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) norms, he added.