Counting to Hyderabad civic polls begin, repolling held in one division

Hyderabad: Counting of votes polled in Tuesday’s elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) began on Friday afternoon even as repolling continued in one division amid tight security. Counting of votes polled in 149 divisions began at 24 places in the twin-cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad at 3 pm. [caption id=“attachment_2614302” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] An official said postal ballots were being counted first. This will be followed by opening of the sealed Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Since re-polling was underway in Puranapul division, the results will be announced only after 5 pm. The state election commission has imposed restrictions on media in covering the counting trends. Polling held in all 150 divisions on Tuesday recorded 45.27 percent turnout. According to GHMC commissioner and special officer Janardhan Reddy, 33,60,543 voters out of 74,23,980 eligible electors cast their votes. The re-poll in Puranapull division in the old city was ordered following complaints of rigging and incidents of violence. The polling, which began at 7 am, will continue till 5 pm. The re-polling resulted in the delay in taking up of counting of votes, which was originally scheduled from 7 am. All results are expected to be declared by 8 pm. The voters have decided political fortunes of 1,333 candidates. This was the first GHMC election after the formation of the separate Telangana state. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is expected to emerge as the largest party in the 150-member body. The exit polls conducted by various Telugu television channels have given 70-80 seats to the TRS, which had no representation in the previous body. The ruling party is likely to have post-poll alliance with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) to have their candidates as mayor and deputy mayor. The exit polls predicted that MIM may get 35-40 seats. The TDP-BJP alliance is expected to get 25-30 seats, while the Congress is likely to win only 10-12 seats. In the previous body, the Congress shared power with MIM. IANS