Andhra civic polls record 37.13 pc turnout by 1 pm; 35.97 lakh voters exercise franchise
The turnout increased from 22.08 per cent recorded at 11 am. Kanigiri in Markapuram district registered the highest turnout of 63.36 per cent, though polling was being held in only two wards.
Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district followed with 61.86 per cent across all its 32 wards, while Nagari recorded 60.81 per cent.
In Pulivendula, where clashes were reported ahead of polling, 51.51 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise by 1 pm.
Among the 13 municipal corporations, Machilipatnam recorded the highest turnout of 47.85 per cent, followed by Vijayawada with 36.40 per cent and Guntur with 30.94 per cent.
Visakhapatnam recorded the lowest turnout among the urban local bodies at 27.55 per cent.
Polling, which began at 7 am, continued until 5 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled for November 3.
Elections for chairperson posts in 17 municipalities and Nagar Panchayats were unanimous. Both chairpersons and ward members were elected unopposed in eight urban local bodies — Allagadda, Dachepalli, Darsi, Gurazala, Kamalapuram, Piduguralla, Proddatur and Rayachoti. The ruling NDA alliance secured all the chairperson and ward member posts in these eight bodies.
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha inspected the polling process at the VTPS Colony polling station within Vijayawada Municipal Corporation limits. He interacted with officials and enquired about the number of votes polled and the turnout recorded till then.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party president and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with a large number of party workers, staged a sit-in outside the Returning Officer’s office in Pulivendula, demanding repolling in the town.
Jagan alleged that YSRCP polling agents had been denied entry into several polling booths.
He reportedly went to the Returning Officer’s office to raise the issue but was not allowed inside, following which he staged a protest outside the premises.
