E-Paper
Telangana votes as part of Andhra for last time, 4% increase in voting
On Wednesday, all of Telangana’s 119 assembly seats went to polls as part of united Andhra Pradesh but to vote its first government that will come into effect on June 2. The electorate also voted for the 17 Lok Sabha seats, on which hinge the Congress hopes to form the UPA-3 government.
On Wednesday, all of Telangana’s 119 assembly seats went to polls as part of united Andhra Pradesh but to vote its first government that will come into effect on June 2. The electorate also voted for the 17 Lok Sabha seats, on which hinge the Congress hopes to form the UPA-3 government.
But contrary to expectations of enthusiastic voting, the overall percentage showed a mere 4% rise to 72% from the 68% in 2009. The final figure, however, may vary a little.
The apathy was more visible in Hyderabad, where the concentration of people from Seemandhra is high, on a par with Telanganites. Hyderabad recorded 53% polling, 5% lower than in 2009. Voting also took a dip in Khammam district, which has a mixed population.
In the core districts of Telangana too, like Medak and Warangal, the increase was only 2%, while Nizamabad showed a slight dip. This might be a reason to worry for the TRS, facing stiff competition from the Congress in these areas. Karimnagar is the only place where the votes shot up by 10%. Nalgonda, where the Congress has an edge, registered a 5% increase.
TRS chief KC Rao, running for the Gajwel assembly and Medak Lok Sabha seats, and his MLA son KT Rama Rao, who is re-contesting Sircilla, have nothing much to show for development but are banking on the Telangana sentiment to sail through to power in the assembly.
In the other districts — including Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Adilabad and Ranga Reddy — the fight is triangular, with the TDP-BJP combine flexing its muscles.
Analysts believe that there are chances of a hung assembly, in which case TRS and the Congress could come together to form the first government in Telangana.
