cleared: jm
Hyderabad: With all ballot boxes from Thursday’s MLC elections for three seats locked in strong rooms in district headquarters, elections officials are now making final arrangements for counting on March 3. The results for the two teachers’ constituencies are expected in one and a half days, while the lone graduates’ constituency result may take two to three days due to the larger number of preferential votes.
The Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates’ constituency recorded 70.4% voter turnout, the teachers’ constituency for the same region registered 91.9% voting, and the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda teachers’ constituency saw 93.5% polling.
“We have moved the ballot boxes to three strong rooms in Karimnagar and Nalgonda. They are guarded with a three-tier security arrangement. Counting will be done in three locations, including the indoor stadium in Karimnagar for both graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies, and the State Warehousing Corporation in Nalgonda,” said Telangana chief electoral officer (CEO) C Sudharshan Reddy.
He added, “Around 20 tables will be arranged. Counting staff is in place. The counting will be done in shifts and may take two to three days. Police bandobust and barricading have been completed. On March 3, counting will begin at 8am with the sorting of ballot papers and bundling. The actual counting may start in the afternoon or late evening. The teachers’ constituency vote result may be declared by the afternoon of March 4.”
There are approximately 27,088 voters in Karimnagar and 25,715 in Nalgonda for teachers’ polls. Sudharshan Reddy noted a significant increase in voter turnout for both the teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies.
“In the Karimnagar teachers’ constituency, the turnout increased from 83.3% in the previous election to 91.9% now. In the Nalgonda teachers’ constituency, it increased from 90.4% to 93.5%. In the graduates’ constituency of Karimnagar, voter turnout rose from 58.7% to 70.4%.”
There are approximately 3.55 lakh voters in graduates’ constituency, with 56 candidates contesting. In Karimnagar, 15 teachers are contesting, while in Nalgonda, 19 candidates are in the fray.
“Though the percentage of voters is lower in the graduates’ constituency, the total number of voters is higher, which will make the counting process longer,” said the CEO.
