Telangana Elections 2018 updates: Polling ends in Naxal-hit constituencies; exit polls barred till 5.30 pm

EC replaced 22 ballot units in Telangana

“Polling commenced at 7 am, though at some polling centres there was a delay of 10 to 15 minutes. In one or two cases EVMs needed to be replaced. We have replaced 22 ballot units, 19 control units and 42 VVPATS,” Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar told reporters.

EC bars exit polls till 5.30 pm

The Election Commission has barred the airing of exit polls till 5.30 pm. Following is the text of the notification issued by the PIB —

The Election Commission of India, in exercise of the powers under sub-section(1) of Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 notified the period between 7.00 A.M. on 12.11.2018 and 5.30 P.M. on 07.12.2018 as the period during which conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicizing  the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited in the ongoing general elections to the  Legislative Assemblies of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram &Telangana, 2018.

          Further, under Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in each of the phase in connection with the aforesaid general elections.

Polling ends in LWE-affected constituencies

Voting has ended in 13 Left-Wing Extremism affected constituencies. Polling in the remaining constituencies in Telangana will end at 5 p.m. The constituencies where voting ended an hour early were Sirpur, Chennur, Bellampally, Mancherial, Asifabad, Manthani, Bhupalpalle, Mulugu, Pinapaka, Yellandu, Kothagudem, Aswaraopeta and Bhadrachalam.

MIM corporator gets into argument with Telangana Police

Mahmood Quadri, MIM corporator of Pathergatti, Charminar was seen getting into an argument with the police over not letting in voters with approved alternative IDs. He placed a call to the Returning Officer in an attempt to clarify the status. The EC has announced that as long as one is a registered voter and their name is on the list, they can exercise their franchise with the alternative documents like passport, driving license, Aadhaar Card etc in lieu of Voter ID.

Syed Maqsood/101Reporters

Jukkal records highest turnout

The constituency in Telangana has recorded a turnout of 67.91%.

Telangana records 56.17 percent voting till 3 p.m.

An Election Commission spokesperson has announced the most recent figures for Telangana.

Suryapet voters express resentment with KCR

MD Abbas (right), a voter from Suryapet, is critical of KCR. “He has neither given 12% reservation for minorities nor employment to the educated youth. “Thalli” (mother) Sonia Gandhi has given us Telangana and KCR has cheated the state. First, he promised to provide 3 lakh jobs but all he has given are goats and buffaloes. He did not give double bedroom houses or tap water for every house. We are hoping for change and have decided to vote for Congress.” 

Sursingh Rajpurohit/101Reporters

Is there a TRS, BJP ‘friendship’ brewing catalyzed by uncertainity ahead of polls?

While in the recent times, KCR has directed more firepower at Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu during the Telangana Assembly election campaign, speculation is rife about a tacit understanding between the TRS and BJP.

To be sure, his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had given hints of this approach earlier. In June, when chief ministers of four states held a joint press conference to express their support to their Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal in his agitation against Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, KCR was absent. The press conference was meant to be a show of Opposition unity, but the Telangana chief minister gave it a miss despite being in Delhi. This was a stark contrast to his approach not long before that, when he made a push for Opposition unity, saying that an alternative to the Congress and BJP would soon emerge to bring about a qualitative change in Indian politics.

Meanwhile, with both TDP and Congress making insinuations about the TRS, it remains to be seen how the Telangana Assembly election result affects the BJP’s footprint in southern India, and national politics in general. In such a scenario, if an opportunity presents itslef, the parties may not hesitate in realigning as per their political interests. 

52% voter turnout till 3 pm

As of 3 pm Telangana has registered 52 percent polling overall. Hyderabad has seen the lowest turnout with 38 percent while Medak district with 55 percent has seen the highest turnout.

Telangana voters miffed over names left off electoral roll, tweet using #WheresMyVote 

After badminton player Jwala Gutta claimed that her name ‘disappeared’ from Telangana voter list, IPS officer T Krishna Prasad also tweeted about his missing name. He hit out at the Election Commission for “denying” him his right to vote. Delhi deputy chief minister too, slammed EC over the issue.Miffed voters created a thread on Twitter, replying to Jwala’s tweets. They also used the #WheresMyVote extensively to register their protest. 

Speaking to Firstpost, another irate voter in Pitlam village said: Why am I being denied my right despite having all the right documents. Am I dead? he asks. “I want my vote! That’s all!”

With inputs from Rajpurohit/101Reporters

Meanwhile… Chandrababu Naidu looks to woo ‘settlers’ from Andhra Pradesh

According to local political analysts, Andhra voters have a huge say in at least seven-eight Assembly seats in Greater Hyderabad area. They say there are about 12 lakh “settler” voters in the region.  

The TDP and the Congress are also using “brand Hyderabad” to remind the city people that it was the TDP and subsequent Congress governments that made Hyderabad a global city under Naidu and YSR. They accuse KCR of ignoring the development of Hyderabad completely. Naidu and Rahul Gandhi made it a point to attack him at every rally over “stalled” developments in and around Hyderabad under KCR’s rule.

KCR drums up anti-TDP sentiment to take on Prajakutami 

The TRS, faced with an alliance of all Opposition parties except the BJP, has blamed the TDP of joining hands with the Congress and even called N Chandrababu Naidu ‘Telangana Drohi’. KCR said that “cheap Congress fellows” have “betrayed Telangana through and through”. “The Congress and the BJP are coming up with impractical poll assurances,” KCR asserted and asked people to choose his party.

“He is a traitor who has consistently worked against the interests of Telangana. It is appalling how the Congress, that killed nearly 400 Telugu youth in 1968, and Naidu, who wrote 36 letters to stop the irrigation projects in Telangana, have formed an alliance. How can they have the audacity to even face the state?” KCR said.

Here are voting percentage till 1 pm

Telangana Votes#TelanganaElections2018
Ammur 46.20% by 1pm
Manakondur 45%
Huzurabad 49%
Dubbak 50%
Miryalguda 51.25% pic.twitter.com/oWCLdsNbBu

— Spokesperson ECI (@SpokespersonECI) December 7, 2018

Telangana CM confident of retaining power with huge majority

Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday exuded confidence that his party will retain power in the state after the Assembly polls with a huge majority. The chief minister and his wife Shobha Rao cast their votes in Chintamadaka village, which is part of Siddipet constituency, where his nephew and cabinet minister T Harish Rao is seeking re-election.

Caretaker CM of Telangana cast his vote at a polling station in Siddipet today. #TelanganaElections pic.twitter.com/Qf3Z82n4AR

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2018

‘Not doing this to join politics’: Jwala Gutta tweets out video after people suggest shuttler didn’t register as voter

Irked by “silly questions” on Twitter about her name missing from the electoral roll, shuttler Jwala Gutta tweeted out a video clarifying that she did finish all the formalities of the registration process, but only her mother could vote from her family of four. Jwala said that she had been living at the same residence for past 12 years and she couldn’t understand why some names were deleted from the electoral roll. 

To all the silly questions!! pic.twitter.com/6bKDwW8Xcv

— Gutta Jwala 💙 (@Guttajwala) December 7, 2018

Mosques advice people to go out and vote 

As people gathered for Friday prayers at a mosque in Hussaini Alam in Old City, a special announcement was made after the sermon, asking worshippers to exercise their right to vote without fail and help good parties come to power.

Input by Syed Maqsood/101Reporters

KCR’s son KT Rama Rao casts his vote

KT Rama Rao, son of Chief minister KCR, has cast his vote. The TRS leader is contesting for the third time from Sircilla constituency, which is about 140 kilometres from the state capital Hyderabad. KT Rama Rao, who is number two in both party and government, is aiming for a third term from Sircilla constituency.He had won with a margin of over 53,000 votes against his Congress rival in the 2014 Assembly elections. 

I am inked 👍👇 Are you?

Go out and vote if you haven’t already #TelanganaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/bMsrkRBttV

— KTR (@KTRBRS) December 7, 2018

Voters complain of missing names in electoral roll

Reports mount of voters not being able to find their names in the voters’ list. In the St Anne’s School polling booth in Nampally alone, several voters had the same complaint. Anoop Kumar, who was able to cast his vote, is annoyed that none of his other family members, who had voted last time, were able to do so today and there was no one there who could help them. Earlier, shuttler Jwala Gutta has raised a similar complaint saying she was unable to find her name in the electoral roll.

Syed Maqsood/101Reporters

Clashes between Congress, TRS workers reported in Jukkal 

A clash occurred near a polling booth in Thimmanagar village of Jukkal constituency between local TRS and Congress leaders. Congress workers allege that drunken TRS workers attacked and abused them without provocation.

Sursingh Rajpurohit/101Reporters

KCR, son, nephew among 1,821 candidates in fray

Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrashekhar Rao, his 14 cabinet colleagues including a son and a nephew and state presidents of the Congress and the BJP are among 1,821 candidates in the fray for Friday’s Assembly elections.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, state Congress working President A. Revanth Reddy and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder NT Rama Rao’s granddaughter N. Suhasini are among the other key candidates whose political fortunes will be decided in the polling on Friday.

KCR’s son KT Rama Rao, who is number two in both party and government, is aiming for a third term from Sircilla constituency.

Hyderabad Police commissioner casts his vote, assures people of a peaceful polling exercise 

Commissioner of Police for Hyderabad City, Anjani Kumar, casts his vote near Charminar. He told the reporters that the polling was being conducted peacefully across all 15 constituencies in Hyderabad and none of the 3,900 polling booths have reported any incidents. He appealed to the first-time voters to participate in democracy and governance. He assured the public that his department was ensuring peaceful elections and is ready to face any situation. “All senior officers are on duty in addition to the central police force, the paramilitary, CRPF, including female battalions and Rapid Action Forces,” he said.

Input by Syed Maqsood/101Reporters

BJP denies link to attack on Congress candidate

Kalwakurthy Congress candidate Vamshi Chand Reddy was attacked earlier in the day. He is now being treated at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences. He has alleged that he was attacked by BJP workers. However, BJP has denied the charge stating that the Congress had already conceded defeat and that is why it was spreading lies about the saffron party. 

“#BJP4Telangana believes Congress is already conceding defeat. That’s the reason for their leaders creating rumours against BJP. @UttamTPCC statements against BJP is highlighting Congress retreat in the elections. Congress is playing victim games sensing disastrous defeat. BJP has nothing to do with attack on Vamshi Chander Reddy. Police should investigate & book those responsible for the attack. Police should also ensure wrong rumours are not spread through media. (sic)

Sania Mirza casts her vote

Tennis player Sania Mirza cast her vote at Film Nagar Cultural Center in Hyderabad.  

Sania Mirza cast her vote at Film Nagar Cultural Center in Hyderabad. #TelanganaElections pic.twitter.com/GlD1jNSPRo

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2018

A differently-abled voter shares which issues dominated his decision 

A hearing-impaired voter from Musheerabad, Syed Mahmood, says he has cast his vote based on the best of his understanding. He says that he expects the future government to develop good roads, provide uninterrupted water and electricity, and create employment opportunities in the state.

Input by Syed Maqsood/101Reporters

Congress candidate attacked in Nagarkurnool’s Kalwakurthy, blames BJP workers for violence 

Kalwakurthy Congress candidate Vamshi Chand Reddy was attacked earlier in the day. He is now being treated at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences. He has alleged that he was attacked by BJP workers.

Ramesh Babu/101Reporters

TDP candidate in Serilingampally accuses TRS workers of turning away his supporters from polling booth

Ananda Prasad, the TDP candidate from Serilingampally who is fighting the incumbent TRS MLA, is indignant about voters being “turned away” from his constituency. He claims TRS party workers are sitting (as election agents) on all the polling counters.

“They are analysing the voters and allowing only TRS supporters inside while telling others that they do not have a vote in the booth. We have noticed this in Miyapur and Chandanagar and have informed the Election Commission. Even the police are assisting them with this. As a candidate, when I went inside to question this, the police dragged me out. Are they neutral or not?”

Input by Ramu/101Reporters

Will Hyderabadi biryani become Bhagya Biryani?

BJP’s Yogi Adityanath promised to rename the state capital as Bhagyanagar if his party was voted to power. The Uttar Pradesh government, under Adityanath, has renamed some ancient cities to reflect a more Hindu character. 

“If Hyderabad has to be transformed into ‘Bhagyanagar’ then I call upon you to support BJP to form the government (in Telangana)”, he had said.

Telangana ​BJP leader T Raja Singh Lodh, who was an MLA in the dissolved Assembly, had on several occasions earlier said that BJP would aim to rename Hyderabad and other cities in the state after the names of great people, if elected to power.

‘Congress fulfilled dream of separate Telangana,’ Rahul Gandhi makes final poll pitch in audio message

The youngest state of India, Telangana has lost four precious years due to ‘Corruption, Commission & Coterie Raj’. Let us throw out the arrogance of power and usher in a New era towards a ‘Bangaru Telangana’," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala’s appeal today. Surjewala tweeted an audio message from Rahul Gandhi, in which the Congress president is heard reminding voters that it was the Congress party that created Telangana. He also thanked Congress workers for their hard work ahead of the polls.

The youngest state of India, Telangana has lost four precious years due to ‘Corruption, Commission & Coterie Raj’

Let us throw out the arrogance of power and usher in a New era towards a ‘Bangaru Telangana’#CongressIsWinning 🤚

CP @RahulGandhi Ji’s Message:- pic.twitter.com/8v5zFCUctg

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) December 7, 2018

Nizamabad sees triangular contest as BJP, combined Opposition give tough fight to TRS in its bastion

The Nizamabad district, considered a stronghold of the TRS is witnessing a triangular contests in majority of the Assembly constituencies. As the CPI, TJS, Congress and TDP have fielded a common candidate, the ruling TRS is facing a tough fight. However, BJP candidates have also emerged strong contenders in Nizamabad urban, Kamareddy, Jukkal, Nizamabad rural and Armoor Assembly constituencies,  Deccan Chronicle reported.

Kavitha Rao, KCR’s daughter and Nizamabad MP queues up to cast her vote

TRS MP K Kavitha stands in a queue to cast her vote at polling booth no. 177 in Pothangal, Nizamabad.

TRS MP K Kavitha stands in a queue to cast her vote at polling booth no. 177 in Pothangal, Nizamabad. #TelanganaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/3sQskAJzUs

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2018

A few villages boycott polls in Khammam and Rangapuram Thanda

Reports are coming in of a poll boycott in a few villages. Voters at Imamnagar in Khammam refused to cast their votes saying none of their problems have been addressed over the past four years. Local leaders have rushed to the area to talk to the protestors. Polling is also being boycotted in Rangapuram Thanda in Kodad constituency.

Only 136 women candidates in fray

While women voters across Telangana number around 1.39 crore, only 136 women candidates are participating in these polls.

Women voters arrive at the polling booth in St Ann’s High School in Nampally in Hyderabad, a locality that hosts the party offices of Congress, BJP, MIM, TJS and many others. 

Input by: Syed Maqsood

Data from last election shows 2% vote swing in 2018 may change outcome of election

Last time, KCR’s party won 63 seats against the 21 seats of Congress and 15 of Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party. This year data from the last election shows a 2 percent vote swing may change the outcome of the election. Rao had a good equation with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, which won 7 seats in the last election.

NT Rama Rao’s granddaughter contest polls on TDP ticket from Kukatpally

Voters at a polling booth at Kukatpally constituency where Suhasini Nandamuri, granddaughter of TDP founder NT Rama Rao and daughter of actor-turned-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna, is contesting her maiden elections as a TDP candidate. Her uncle and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu campaigned extensively for her here. She is only the second politician from NTR’s family to contest from Telangana after NTR himself lost from Kalwakurthy in 1989.

Input by Ramu/101Reporters

NT Rama Rao Junior queues up with family to cast vote 

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Junior, also known as Jr NTR or Tarak, a well-known Telegu film personality was seen outside the  polling booth. 

10.15% voter turnout till am in Telangana, says EC

At 10 am, the voter turnout stands at 10.15% across Telangana, the Election Commission said.

2-3% swing votes may play decisive role in Telangana

While KCR’s party won 63 seats last time against the 21 seats of Congress and 15 of Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, data from the last election shows a 2 percent vote swing may change the outcome of the election. This is where an alliance can also come into play. While KCR has dubbed Congress the only enemy of Telangana, his criticism of the BJP has not been as pronounced. The caretaker chief minister also shares a good equation with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, which he has termed a friendly party. AIMIM had won 7 seats in the last election.

As money power dominates election, Adilabad shopkeeper puts up sign saying his vote is not for sale 

Image sourced by Sursingh Rajpurohit/101Reporters

After EVM snags, missing names from voters’ lists inconvenience voters 

After technical glitches, missing names from voters’ list mars Telangana Assembly elections. While the common man is already miffed, known faces of the state have also expressed their dissatisfaction. Badminton player Jwala Gutta took to Twitter to share that her name was missing from the list despite it being available on the online list. “Surprised to see my name disappear from the voting list after checking online. How’s the election fair…when names arr mysteriously disappearing from the list,” Jwala tweeted.