Telangana reported about 64 per cent voting in the polling held for the State Assembly at 5 p.m. when the polling was closed officially. The number, however, could go up as a large number of voters are still waiting at several polling stations in different parts of the State.
The polling has been peaceful by and large but a few sporadic incidents where skirmishes were reported between the activists of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Medak topped the list of districts with highest percentages with 80.28 per cent, followed by Janagama with 80.23 per cent and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri with 78.31 per cent. Hyderabad reported the lowest turnout of 34 per cent followed by Medchal Malkajgiri with 49.25 per cent and Ranga Reddy district with 53 per cent. Incidentally these three areas comprised the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area, dragging down the overall percentages. All other districts reported voting percentages in excess of 60 per cent.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President K Chandrashekar Rao cast his vote at Chintamadaka in Siddhipet district, while BRS Working President KT Rama Rao and BJP State President and Union Minister Kishan Reddy, along with their family members, cast their votes in Hyderabad.
Several film celebrities including K Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Vijay Devarakonda and film producers Allu Arvind and Daggubati Suresh Babu cast their votes in different polling stations in Hyderabad.
Addressing a press conference after the polling, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has said that his party would come back to power for the third time by winning 70 seats.
He said the exit polls failed to show the actual picture. “When the counting happens on December 3, we will emerge winners,” he said.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the Nagarjunasagar Dam, the multipurpose dam that is a lifeline for both the States, early in the morning, when a large number of Andhra Pradesh police barged in and barricaded the dam at the 13th gate, taking control over the dam till that part.
The early morning drama created a flutter with the opposition party leaders in Telangana alleging that the attempt was aimed at aiding the BRS.