Voting begins for 18 Assembly, one LS seat with the stage set for polling in 18 Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh. The election authorities hav emade elaborate arrangements for the exercise.
As many as 46,13,589 voters would exercise their vote at 5,413 polling stations set up in the Nellore Lok Sabha constituency and 18 assembly segments, spread over 12 districts in the state.
The polling will be held from 8 am to 5 pm.
Bypolls are necessitated in 16 of the 18 assembly seats as the sitting Congress MLAs were disqualified by Assembly Speaker for switching loyalty to Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and voting against the Congress government during a no-trust vote in December.
The sitting MLA quit in support of Jagan in one constituency, while actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi resigned as MLA following his election to Rajya Sabha which caused bypoll in another seat.
Enthusiastic voters have gathered at the polling booth in Macherla - the place where Jagan was last campaigning before he got CBI summons.
Long queues in Udayagiri, Nellore dist.
Lakshmi, 72, was a labourer until few years ago. She had come early to vote to avoid the unkind Sun of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. The temperature here had touched 43 degrees Celsius last week. Lakshmi does not want to reveal who she is voting for but in a veiled message to the Congress she says, "If the hand tries to stop a running fan then it will get cut." (Courtesy: NDTV)
Lathicharge in Railway Kodur constituency in Kadapa after some men refused to leave premises after voting.
Narasapur and Polavaram are the two constituencies those are facing by elections today in West Godavari. There is heavy power cut in the areas and also due to rainfall in the night, the power hasn’t come yet. Rusthumabada is identified as problematic center and special security is posted. 161 Polling centers were opened in Narsapur and in Polavaram 213. On a whole 1,41,834 voters are going to exercise their right to vote.
Tirupathi Update
In Tirupathi, about 262 polling centers were opened, out of which 181 were identified as problematic stations. Hence the special security force is delegated in these stations. On the other hand, the video cameras and secret cameras were placed in all polling stations. No one, except the voter is being allowed in a radius of 200 meters from polling station. The polling continues till 5 PM.
2 Lakh Lts Liquor and Rs 40 Cr Cash
2 lakh liters of liquor and Rs 40 Cr cash was seized by police in various centers where the by poll is being conducted. It can be understood that how much liquor and cash might have reached the public, if the seized volume itself is that much. EC passed a rule to shut all the liquor shops in the radius of 5 km from polling stations. Spying is being done on all the liquor shops of 12 districts where the polling is going on. It is estimated that many candidates have spent Rs 500 per each vote apart from liquor bottle.
Situation In Nellore
The situation is Nellore Lok Sabha constituency is hot as T Subba Rami Reddy is contesting from Congress, Panteru Venugopal Reddy from TDP and Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy from YSRCP. Both Nellore Lok Sabha and Udayagiri Assembly constituencies are facing By Poll today. About 13.15 lakh voters are exercising their right to vote in Nellore and in Udayagiri about 1.5 lakh. But many haven’t got the required slips to enter the polling stations. The voter ID cards were not issued for many and even the temporary slips for polling were also not given. Those who have those with them only can vote.
Secret Meeting Of Some Voters In Parkal
Many voters among government and private employees in Parkal have called for a meeting early this morning to take an oath to vote for BJP as Telangana is possible only with that. Adding to that, they conveyed in the meeting that they lost sympathy on TRS due to Sakala Januma Samme affect. Keeping this away, the masses are not letting out their pulse, but silently going and casting votes. While some political analysts are affirming that the wave is towards Konda Surekha of YSRCP, others are saying TRS has an edge. On a whole the situation is peaceful as of now.
Overall voting percentage 25.55% till 11.00 am - 28% in Narsannapet, 28% in Polavaram, Tirupathi 22%, Allagada 23%, Ongole 21%, 22% in Macherla, and 33% in Udaygiri which is highest. The lowest percentage has been reported from Parakal - just 13%.
