Over 60% polling recorded in Telangana

Hyderabad, April 11 (IANS) Over 60 per cent polling was recorded in all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana till 5 p.m., officials said.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar, 60.57 per cent turnout was recorded in all the constituencies, barring Nizamabad, where polling ends at 6 p.m.

According to figures available till 5 p.m., Medak recorded the highest turnout at 68.60 per cent and Secunderabad the lowest at 39.20 per cent. With 39.49 per cent polling, Hyderabad also witnessed voters' apathy.

Polling in 13 Maoist-affected Assembly segments under the five Lok Sabha constituencies ended at 4 p.m.

In Nizamabad, where a record number of EVMs are being used to accommodate 185 candidates, polling continues till 6 p.m. The CEO said that those standing in queues would be allowed to vote, irrespective of the time they take.

Nearly 2.97 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fortunes of 443 candidates, including 25 women, in the state.

Some of the prominent names in the fray are Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K. Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter K. Kavitha, senior TRS leader Vinod Kumar, state Congress Chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary (Congress) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Election Commission has set up 46,120 polling stations and deployed three lakh personnel, including about a lakh securitymen, for the polls.

The counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.

In 2014, the TRS bagged 11 seats in the state, while the Congress secured two. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), AIMIM and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won a seat each.

The TDP and the YSRCP are not contesting the elections in Telangana this time.