High voting percentage sustained even in the third phase of panchayat election in old united Adilabad district on Wednesday with Nirmal district recording the highest percentage of 88.81 while Mancherial, Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Adilabad districts recorded over 80 per cent of polling. There was visible enthusiasm among tribal voters as most of the gram panchayats in Adilabad and KB Asifabad are tribal panchayats. The TRS has almost swept the election in these gram panchayats.
TRS leaders claim that results in about 300 of the gram panchayats of the 402 where election was held in the four districts went in favour of TRS supported candidates. The Congress has bagged about 40 and the remaining went to ‘others’ which includes BJP, left and independents.
The three phases of panchayat election saw contest among candidates who belonged to TRS.
For example in the first phase election in Korata of Jainad mandal all three contestants belonged to the TRS. In Kamai panchayat in the same mandal too the three candidates belonged to the ruling party in the State.
TRS favoured
The third phase of pancahayat elections was held in erstwhile Medak district on Wednesday peacefully.
Polling percentage crossed 90 per cent in the erstwhile Medak district, for which polling ended at 1 p.m. Eight mandals in Medak district went for polling and the overall polling was recorded as 90.28 per cent with Toopran mandal registering 94.8 per cent voting while Narsingi mandal registered 87.14 per cent.
In Siddipet district the five mandals went for polling with 90.73 per cent polling. Husnabad mandal registered highest polling of 92.62 while Bejjanki has registered 89.89 per cent. District observer Dinakar Babu visited some centres and expressed satisfaction over the polling and counting process.
In Sangareddy district, overall poll percentage registered stood at 89.39 per cent. While Raikode registered 94.15, Mogudampally registered 86.59 per cent.
Counting is on and majority results are in favour of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
The final phase of the gram panchayat elections in the district on Wednesday registered 94.99 polling percentage.
Including the first (95.32) and second (93.71) phases, the district has achieved a cumulative best average of 94.6%
A total of 400 sarpanches, 3,472 ward members were elected in the contest.
One gram panchayat – Koyyalagudem, for not filing any nominations, including 10 wards there, Gangamala thanda 3rd ward and 8th ward of Patimatla village in Mothkur mandal also were not in the contest. Officials said 1, 39, 885 voters as against the total 1, 47, 270 had exercised their franchise on Wednesday.
District Collector Anita Ramachandran visited polling stations at Pochamaplly, Bibinagar and expressed happiness that the gram panchayat elections passed off smoothly. Election Observer K. Surendra Mohan, OSD (Election) Ms. Priyanka and Joint Collector Ramesh visited several polling stations in Narayanpur and Choutuppal.
More women voters
The final phase of elections for a total of 163 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the predominantly tribal populated district on Wednesday registered an overall polling percentage of 87.23.
Amid heightened security, polling passed off peacefully with no untoward incident being reported from any of the seven mandals that went to the polls on Wednesday.
Women outnumbered men in exercising their franchise resulting in a high voter turnout. Of the total electorate of 1,61,634 voters, as many as 1,41,000 voters including 70,851 women and 70,149 men had cast their ballots in Wednesday’s elections.
While Julurupadu mandal recorded the highest polling percentage of 90.67, the Yellandu mandal registered 83.91 %, the lowest in the district. In Khammam district, about 94.56 % of the total 2,20,011 registered voters exercised their franchise in the final phase elections held for a total of 168 GPs in seven mandals.
Madhira mandal topped the chart registering a high voter turnout of 96.06 %, followed by Bonakal mandal, which recorded 95.27 polling percentage.
