18 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh go to bypolls

HYDERABAD: Polling began in 18 assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha seat of Nellore in the bypolls that is expected to make clear whether the YSR Congress led by Jaganmohan Reddy will have a major say in the state politics. Jagan is currently in Chanchalguda Jail after being arrested in the disproportionate assets case by the CBI.
Chief electoral officer Bhanwarlal said 25 per cent polling was reported till 11 am.Except for minor technical hitches in the electronic voting machines at two of the assembly constituencies, the polling was going on smoothly in the remaining 16 assembly segments and one Lok Sabha constituency where the EVMs are in place.
The polling was by-and-large peaceful barring a clash between two groups in Railway Kodur assembly seat in Kadapa district. Police, however, brought the situation under control by chasing away the rival groups. The polling will be completed by 5 pm. The counting of votes will be taken up at 8 am on June 15 and the results are expected to be out by the same afternoon.
With the day temperature dropping down slightly, the heat wave has subsided a bit and the authorities expect this change in weather to contribute to a large voter turnout. The average voting percentage could be in the range of 65 to 70 per cent. In a couple of polling stations in Polavaram assembly seat in West Godavari district, the voters boycotted the elections in protest against the construction of the Polavaram dam that is expected to bring about a huge displacement of people and lead to the submerging of many areas.
Over 46 lakh voters are expected to exercise their franchise in 5,413 polling stations in the voting for 12 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency spread across 12 districts of the state. In all, over 15,000 security personnel and 50,000 polling personnel have been deployed for the bypolls that was necessitated due to the resignation of 17 MLAs and the Nellore Lok Sabha MP in support of Jagan and Congress leader Chiranjeevi quitting the Tirupati assembly seat after his nomination to the Rajya Sabha. Parkal in Warangal district is the lone assembly seat in the Telangana region going to the bypolls with all the others falling in the Seema-Andhra region.
The YSR Congress has been predicted to do well in the bypolls. After the arrest of its leader Jagan on May 27, his mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila have hit the campaign trail while the Congress saw all its bigwigs from the state as well as a few national leaders do the campaigning.