Telangana election highlights: 70% voting recorded; exit polls see TRS win

Telangana voted today to choose the winner after Congress-TDP, TRS and BJP's high voltage campaigns.

The VVPAT machines, which will be attached to the EVMs, will allow voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate. (Photo: pib.nic.in)

Voting for Telangana assembly elections 2018 has ended with about a 70 percent turnaround. Elections ended on a peaceful note, barring minor incidents.

This is the first full-fledged election in India's youngest election. In the 2014 elections held in united Andhra Pradesh, Telangana had registered a voter turnout of 68.9 percent.

The polling, which began on a dull note at 7 a.m., picked up after 9. Long queues of voters including women were seen especially in rural areas.

Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar said barring sporadic incidents, the polling was peaceful and smooth in all 32,815 polling stations across 31 districts.

In some polling centres, the process started late due to technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Of the total electorate, nearly half are women. There were 1,821 candidates, including Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his 14 cabinet colleagues.

Congress candidate Vamshichand Reddy was injured in stone pelting by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Nagarkurnool district. He was admitted to a hospital.

Tension prevailed in Kodangal constituency where the midnight arrest of Congress Working President Revanth Reddy on December 4 had triggered a huge row, leading to transfer of Vikarabad District Superintendent of Police by the Election Commission.

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.

Prominent people whose names were missing from the voter's list include family members of Finance Minister E. Rajender. Shuttler Jwala Gutta tweeted that her name was missing from the list.

Many celebrities including superstar Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Junior NTR, tennis star Sania Mirza and ace shuttler P.V. Sindhu voted but this failed to enthuse the voters as overall turnout remained less than 40 per cent by 3 p.m.

Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President cast his vote in his village in Siddipet district and exuded confidence that his party will retain power with a huge majority.

Over 50,000 security personnel, including 18,860 from neighbouring states and central forces, were deployed as part of the security arrangements.

7:26 PM

6:23 PM

Curious as to which party will win elections in which state?

The exit poll results for elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram are out. Catch latest updates here - https://mybs.in/2VsF5k2

5:08 PM

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Telangana polls: Speaking on the performance of the TRS in this Assembly elections, KCR said, "Pro-government incumbency is there in Telangana. Huge voter turnout will be recorded. Even old people are coming out and voting. You will see our victory in exit polls in the evening." (Read more here)

4:59 PM

Stay alert, EVMs have mysterious powers in Modi's India: Rahul to party workers

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday asked party workers to be vigilant after polls close in Rajasthan and Telangana, saying in "Modi's India, the EVMs have mysterious powers". (Read more here)

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56.17% voting recorded till 3 pm

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Urging people to cast their votes, actor Akkineni Nagarjuna said, "It's your day. Come out and cast your vote instead of just complaining".

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After casting his vote in his native village Chintamadaka, TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) said the tide was in favour of the government. “We will come back with a huge majority".

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Telanagana Elections 2018: Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy, Congress candidate from Kalwakurthy, Mahbubnagar was allegedly attacked by unknown miscreants earlier today. He was later shifted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Hospital, Hyderabad and is out of danger now.

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48 per cent votes recorded in Telangana till 1 pm

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44,415 ballot units, 7,557 reserve ballot units, 32,016 control units 4,432 reserve control units, 32,016 voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs), and 5,261 reserve VVPATs are being used for the polling.

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First Published: Dec 07 2018 | 6:55 AM IST