Hyderabad, April 16: Voters from educated sections of the society and first-time voters turned out in large numbers and cast votes in various Assembly and Parliament constituencies in the city on Thursday.
Polling booths in posh areas like Jubilee Hills and Mahendra Hills, which used to have a deserted look in previous elections, were teeming with voters this time.
The widespread participation in voting manifested itself in serpentine voter queues, numerous cars and two-wheelers parked near polling booths.
The overall voting percentage recorded in the 15 Assembly constituencies in city this time stood at 54.5 per cent, compared with the 50.93 in 2004 polls in 13 Assembly constituencies.
The highest turnout was in Secunderabad Assembly constituency with 63 per cent.
Youngsters said they voted for “change”, and it did not matter if their votes ended up with the winner or not.
Mr Siva Sai Sharan, a computer science first year student, said the state and the country needs representatives with clean image.
“I voted for the first time in my life, and I feel proud that I gave my vote to an educated person,” he said.
Senior citizens did not have to queue up to vote
Hyderabad, April 16: Senior citizens were allowed to vote without being made to wait in long queues at many polling booths.A. Gangamma, 65, was surprised when she was sent directly into the polling booth, bypassing the long queue, when she came to vote at the polling booth at AV College in Domalguda.
“This is something I never expected. I voted many times, but this is the first time that I did not have to stand in queue,” she said. “Even my voter ID card was delivered to my house.”
Women police personnel were seen escorting the senior citizens directly to the presiding officer at several booths.
Some youngsters were courteous enough to offer chairs to the elderly to sit after voting and rest a little before going home.
Physically challenged people also did not have to wait in queues and were sent to the presiding officers to register their votes.
Meanwhile, several voters were turned back when they reached their respective polling booths after 4 pm. These people were under the impression that polling goes on till 5 pm just like in previous years.
However, polling officials allowed voters who had reached the booth before 4 pm and been waiting in queues to vote after 4 pm. In Anna Nagar polling booth of Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly constituency, many voters who had reached the booth before 4 pm were allowed to vote and voting continued till 5.45 pm.
City roads deserted on poll day
Hyderabad, April 16: With the first phase of elections underway on Thursday, the twin cities wore a deserted look.
People were conspicuously missing on the roads, even on stretches of Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Hitech city and Madhapur.
With the IT firms declaring a holiday following the intervention of the Chief Election Officer, traffic was visibly less on the stretches which have software companies. The connecting roads to Secunderabad were also deserted till late afternoon.
Moreover, pan shops, hotels and other commercial establishments in the city remained closed on the CEO’s orders.
When it was brought to the notice of the Election Commissioner that a few firms were functioning despite the order, they said that a written complaint has to be given to register any grievance. The EC cannot suo moto take up a complaint.
“Commuters keeping off roads on election day came as a boon for us,” said Mr Rajesh Kumar, the Cyberabad traffic DCP.
With close to 60 per cent of the traffic police force being put on poll duty in the Cyberabad limits, the traffic officials were happy with the fact that there were not many vehicles on the roads.
Moreover, only the state-run buses were seen on the roads as RTC buses kept off the city roads till 3 pm.
Heavy polling in Naxal-hit areas
Hyderabad, April 16: Though Naxal violence marred elections in several states, there was heavy polling in Beerpur village in Karimnagar district where the supreme commander of Indian Maoists, Ganapati alias Muppala Lakshman Rao, was born.
“Around 72 per cent polling was reported in Beerpur,” said the Jagtiyal revenue divisional officer, Mr Amoy Kumar. “The polls were peaceful. The village was in Buggaram constituency earlier and after delimitation it is now in Jagtiyal constituency. There are three polling stations in the village.”
Mr Ganapati is the secretary of central committee of CPI Maoists and is now operating from Dandakaranya forest in Chhattisgarh. He played a key role in strengthening the Naxal movement in the country. No Naxal violence was reported from anywhere in the state during the first phase of polls on Thursday, perhaps for the first time in four decades. The Maoist call to boycott polls evoked no response either. In 1999 during Lok Sabha and Assembly polls four persons were murdered by Naxals. There were 77 cases of Naxal violence including two landmine blasts. In 2004, Maoists killed 51 persons in pre-poll violence and the extremists also committed 202 offences during the polls.
“This time, there was only one murder in Khammam district by Maoists during the pre-poll period,” said a senior police officer.
PR hopes to get 12 LS, BJP 3
The PR vice-president, Mr T. Devender Goud, on Thursday night said: “We did extremely well in the first phase.
The results will be surprising. The PR would sweep the polls in Telangana and north Andhra regions, which went for elections in the first phase.”
Mr Goud was addressing a media conference in the PR’s central office Along with the PR spokesperson, Mr P. Mitra, in Hyderabad on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the BJP is hopeful of winning 13 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats in the first phase of elections. The party leaders said BJP’s emergence as a Telangana icon has helped it.
The BJP spokesperson, Mr N. Rama Chandra Rao, said: “TRS sympathisers also voted for the BJP in Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar.
The overwhelming response is going to help us win good number of seats in Telangana region.”
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