Polling in Old City wards for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections was slow in the first few hours of Tuesday morning with near-empty booths and voters entering in twos or threes, but as the day progressed, more electors started to trickle in.
Till 9 a.m., only 0.06% of votes were polled in Kanchanbagh and Lalithabagh wards. The case was similar in Riyasatnagar with 0.07% of total votes being polled. Official figures indicated that the numbers across wards in Old City began to pick up by 11 a.m. By 1 p.m., the polling percentage saw a further increase.
A voter of Pathergatti (ward number 32), Haseeb Samad, along with his wife, went to cast his vote around 7.30 a.m. He was able to complete the process in less than five minutes on account of the low turnout. “We went to Princess Esin School. There were not more than three or four people. We didn’t even have to wait, because there was no queue. It took us just a couple of minutes,” he said.
Similarly, when businessman and Noor Khan Bazaar resident Mohammed Abdul Rafey went to cast his vote at Government Girls School, Chaderghat, only a handful had done so. “I went to the polling station at 8.30 a.m. I was the 15th person to vote. Turnout was very low,” said the Dabeerpura (ward number 30) voter.
Since both had voted on ballot papers in the pre-EVM era, they said that they were familiar with the system and did not face any confusion.
Mild tension was palpable is different areas with either polling agents levelling allegations of ‘bogus’ voting, or party workers exchanging expletives. In Azampura, Majlis Bachao Tahreek leader Amjed Ullah Khan alleged that unauthorised persons were entering polling booths. He claimed that police were not taking effective measures to check the menace. Charminar legislator Mumtaz Khan and the worker of an Opposition party were seen engaged in a heated exchange.
Mild unrest was also noted in areas in the Ghansibazar ward where All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Bharatiya Janata Party candidates were seen moving around. Former corporator Mohammed Ghouse, the husband and polling agent of AIMIM candidate Parveen Sultana, and BJP candidate Renuka Soni were seen speaking to mediapersons refuting allegations levelled at each other.
While there were rumours of several people being detained, DCP (East Zone) M. Ramesh clarified that no person had been detained, adding that detention is based only on evidence.
Electors who exercised their right to vote on Tuesday said they grappled with minor confusion as it was their first time voting through ballot papers. “I was confused about where to stamp the ballot paper. There were no instructions. It may sound like a juveline question, but it is important,” said Haseeb Jafferi, a voter.
Others like M.A. Sayeed, a techie and first-time ballot paper voter from Shaikpet ward, said folding the ballot paper was confusing, given the large number of candidates in certain wards. This was a concern among party polling agents. “We had eight candidates and there was some issue with folding. The party name was on two columns and it had to be folded in a certain way so that there was no smudging. The polling agents, too, tried to explain to us and were concerned. Before stamping the ballot paper, it was folded and given to us, but there still were some problems,” he said.
Other voters like Ashish Chowdhury said that a part of his ballot paper was stained on account of the indelible ink.
