Hyderabad Civic Polls: About 50,000 police officers are on duty.
Hyderabad:
After more than a week of intense and scathing campaigning, more than 74 lakh eligible voters will participate in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation or GHMC today. Voting began at 7 a.m.
The election of the civic body is a high-stakes battle for the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the BJP, which is trying to make progress, and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM.
These have been the most fiercely and bitterly fought municipal elections in Hyderabad with a high-octane BJP campaign that included national leaders, such as Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and Yogi Adityanath, in hopes of convincing Hyderabad that change was needed. .
Election issues have gone beyond roads, sanitation, water supply, street lighting, drainage and basic civic infrastructure, if Hyderabad wants its name changed to Bhagyanagar and also if Telangana needs a new ruling party. . BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, the deputy from South Bangalore, made divisive remarks while taking on TRS and AIMIM. He was also accused of entering the iconic Osmania University without permission in his campaign for the city’s civic ballot box.
Mr Owaisi and Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao were among the first voters this morning. Voting will continue until 6 pm
A total of 1,122 candidates contest the elections of the civic body in 150 divisions, spread over four districts. In the last municipal elections in February 2016, the ruling TRS had won 99 seats, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM won 44, the BJP won four, Congress won two, and the Telugu Desam Party won one.
During the last decade, the percentage of polls has traditionally been lower in civic body elections, compared to state elections, with just 45% voter turnout. The percentage of votes in 2009 was 43%; it was 46 percent in 2016.
Strong security has been deployed at 9,101 polling stations, and the state police indicate that they have information on some elements trying to disturb the peace and incite trouble.
More than 50,000 police officers are on the ground amid multiple rumors of distribution of cash and liquor. The electoral campaign ended on Sunday at 6 in the afternoon.
Precautions have been taken to control the spread of the highly infectious Covid, said State Elections Commissioner C Parthasarathy. The use of masks is mandatory in polling stations.
All polling places have been disinfected and disinfectants have been provided at each polling place.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area has 63 containment zones, according to official data.
In 1,700 polling stations, only 800-1,000 voters are allowed instead of the previous limit of 1,400.
Ballot papers are being used instead of EVMs (electronic voting machines). The identity photo of the voters or one of the 18 alternative identity photos can be displayed. Elderly voters and women with children do not need to wait in line. There is no provision for online voting, although postal ballots have been allowed.
Almost 1.5 lakh from people involved in ground support. In total, 2,700 polling stations have been identified as “sensitive”, including 257 in the “critical” category, and 1,004 are marked as “hypersensitive”.
The GHMC was formed in April 2007 by merging 12 townships and eight gram panchayats with the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (MCH). Four districts are within the GHMC boundaries, including Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and Sangareddy.
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