Huzurabad by-poll: ECI says no victory rallies; imposes Sec 144 at counting centre
All arrangements are in place for the counting of votes of the Huzurabad by-poll held on Saturday. The counting will begin from 8 a.m on Tuesday at SRR Degree College in Karimnagar, according to the election authorities.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 1 Nov 2021 2:55 PM GMT
Hyderabad: All arrangements are in place for the counting of votes of the Huzurabad by-poll held on Saturday. The counting will begin from 8 a.m on Tuesday at SRR Degree College in Karimnagar, according to the election authorities.
The 753 postal ballots will be counted in the first half-hour followed by the votes polled on electronic voting machines. Of the total 2,36,873 voters, 2,00,236 exercised their franchise registering 86.64 per cent polling, an all-time record for the constituency. The previous best was 84.42 per cent in the 2018 Assembly polls.
Though the number of women voters is higher than male voters in the constituency, the male voters (87.05 per cent) outnumbered the female (86.25 per cent) in casting their votes on 30 October when the by-poll was held.
The arrangements for the counting of votes have been made in tune with the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the ECI. Section 144 has been imposed and public gatherings in groups of more than five are not allowed at the counting centres, the authorities said. As per the ECI guidelines, victory rallies are also not permitted.
Counting of votes will take place in two large halls; each hall will have seven tables. Officials said the counting is likely to be completed in 22 rounds by afternoon.
There are 30 candidates in the electoral fray from Huzurabad Assembly constituency which went for a by-poll on 30 October. As much as 86.6 percent of polling was registered in 306 polling centres. This by-poll is crucial for all the three main parties - TRS, BJP, and Congress.
The by-poll was necessitated following the resignation of former health minister Etela Rajendar from the K. Chandrashekar Rao Cabinet. He also resigned as Huzurabad MLA and later joined the BJP. The voters will decide the fate of Gellu Srinivas Yadav (TRS), Etela Rajender (BJP), and Balmoor Venkat Nursing Rao (Congress) in a three-cornered contest which is considered a prestige battle for TRS president and Chief Minister KCR.
