High voting percentage was witnessed even as the general elections were held peacefully barring stray incidents of violence and technical snags that hampered the working of EVMs in 11 Lok Sabha (LS) and 79 Assembly constituencies in five coastal districts.
Krishna district: Polling was by and large peaceful due to the tight security arrangements made by police and paramilitary forces. High voter turnout was witnessed in Vijayawada urban constituencies (Vijayawada Central, East and West). The situation was peaceful in the upland areas too and barring problems in the functioning of some EVMs, polling was held without any major hitch.
West Godavari: Faulty EVMs affected polling in at least 15 locations in West Godavari district. Election authorities, however, claimed that they were replaced immediately.
The tribal people of Krishnaiahgudem in Buttayagudem and five other villages in Koyyalagudem mandal under Polavaram (ST reserved) Assembly segment in the district boycotted polling demanding that the authorities bring their villages into the purview of Integrated Tribal Development Agency at Kota Ramachandrapuram. Web-casting arrangements made in over 2,200 out of 3000-odd polling stations ensured transparency in polling.
East Godavari: Voters in the district exercised their franchise in large numbers. Most of the polling was completed by noon in many villages and the election staff sat idle in the afternoon hours. Complaints on distribution of cash and liquor continued to flood the control room at the Collector’s office.
Over 500 students enrolled as volunteers failed to turn up and their absence affected the web-casting process. As a consequence, the number of polling stations identified for web-casting had to be reduced.
Prakasam: Brisk polling was witnessed in 12 Assembly constituencies in the district spread over Bapatla, Nellore and Ongole Lok Sabha constituencies. A 98-year-old woman V. Ankamma and another 85-year-old woman were the cynosure of all eyes at a polling station in Ongole. First-time voters voted in large numbers.
