AP Polls: 68.20% voter turnout; Chittoor highest at 77.29%, Alluri Sitaramaraju lowest at 55.17%

Amaravati: A total voter turnout of approximately 68.20 per cent was registered in the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and the 175-member State Assembly till 6 pm, the Election Commission said on Monday.

The final figures of the voting percentage will be given by the AP chief electoral officer Mukesh Kumar Meena after the tallying figures given by the political parties.

Polling began at 7 am in the state and continued till 6 pm, barring a few places where it concluded one or two hours earlier.

Breakdown of polling data

The highest voting percentage in Assembly elections was recorded at Chittoor, with 77.29 per cent (approx.), followed by 73.55 per cent in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district.

The lowest was recorded at Alluri Sitaramaraju district at 55.17 per cent and Visakhapatnam (58.03%).

In Chittoor district, the highest voter turnout was recorded in Gangadhara Nellore constituency with 79.90 per cent, Puthalapattu constituency (77.17%), Nagari (77.11%), Palamaner (76.11%) and Kuppam at 75.78 per cent.

Pithapuram sees 71.58% turnout

The Pithapuram Assembly constituency, which has been one of the most watched contests because of the fight between YSRCP’s Vanga Geetha and Pawan Kalyan from Jana Sena Party recorded 71.58 per cent, the highest in the Kakinada district.

Vizag sees the lowest turnout in Lok Sabha polls

For the Lok Sabha polls, the total voting percentage was recorded at 68.20 per cent; the Chittoor Parliamentary seat recorded the highest turnout at 75.64 per cent, followed by Amalapuram (73.55%), Kadapa (72.85%) and Machilipatnam (73.53%).

The lowest voter turnout was at Visakhapatnam at 60.03 per cent, Kurnool (64.08%), Anakapalle (64.14%), and Kakinada (65.01%) in the AP Lok Sabha polls.

In Alluri Sitharamaraju district, the lowest voting percentage was seen at Paderu (45.78%). In Visakhapatnam, the lowest voting percentage was recorded in some of the prime Assembly constituencies which include Visakhapatnam North (54%), Visakhapatnam West (56.49%), Pendurthi (56.50%) and Visakhapatnam West (56.49%).

These are the figures as of 6 pm and the final percentage might take time to be released.

“I am very hopeful that the voting percentage this year has increased with the people coming to their native place to vote, young voters and elderly coming to the polling stations,” said AP CEO Meena.

2019 data on voter turnout

In the 2019 elections, 79.88 per cent voter turnout was recorded by the end of the election day, which was 1.92 per cent higher than the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections.

Overall, 31,333,631 out of a possible 39,345,717 voters participated in the election. The highest turnout of 85.93 per cent was recorded in Prakasam district followed by Guntur district with 82.37 per cent, while Visakhapatnam district recorded the lowest turnout of 73.67 per cent. Addanki constituency recorded the highest voter turnout of 89.82 per cent voting and Visakhapatnam West constituency registered the lowest turnout of 58.19 per cent.

Clashes between YSRCP and Opposition

Mukesh Kumar Meena took serious note of clashes reported between the ruling YSRCP and opposition parties in Tenali, Macherla and Anantapur. He directed officials to enforce house arrests wherever required, including registering cases.

“EVMs in eight polling booths in Palnadu were damaged. However, the voting data is safe and there is no need for re-polling in any polling station,” said the CEO.

Governor S Abdul Nazeer, chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu along with their respective family members were among the early voters in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila voted at Idupulupaya, preceded by a visit to her father and former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s grave. JSP chief Pawan Kalyan along with his spouse voted in Mangalagiri.

The YSRCP is contesting in all 175 Assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha segments in the state. As part of a seat-sharing deal among the NDA partners, the TDP was allocated 144 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha constituencies while the BJP is contesting from six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. Actor Pawan Kalyan-led JSP is contesting two Lok Sabha and 21 Assembly seats.