GHMC polls: Counting of votes begins in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Dec 4: Counting of the votes cast in Tuesday's Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) municipal polls began on Friday amid tight security.
Counting of the votes cast in all 150 divisions began at 8 a.m. at 30 places in the city with the Telangana State Election Commission deploying over 8,000 personnel.
Since paper ballots were used in the elections, the results are likely to be known only late in the evening.
Postal ballots were first taken up for counting. The authorities have arranged 150 counting halls with 14 tables in each hall.
State Election Commissioner C. Parthasarthy said a counting supervisor and two assistants were deployed at each table.
Police have made elaborate security arrangements in the city in view of the counting.
Prohibitory orders and traffic restrictions were imposed around counting centres.
Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police have imposed a ban on victory rallies for the next 48 hours.
Out of a total 74.67 lakh voters, 46.55 per cent has cast their votes in 149 divisions on Tuesday.
Polling in one division was stopped due to discrepancy in ballot paper and re-poll was held on Thursday.
The day will decide the political fortunes of 1,122 candidates.
The bitterly contested elections saw a high-decibel campaign with the participation of several central ministers and top national leaders of the BJP.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Prakash Javadekar, Smriti Irani; BJP president J.P. Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have campaigned for the BJP, which fought hard to wrest the key municipal body from ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Congress, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were among the other major contesting parties.
The campaign saw no-hold-barred attack by political opponents. Remarks by some leaders created controversies.
The promise by BJP leaders to change the name of Hyderabad to Bhagyanagar if the party voted to power also sparked a row.
In the 2016 elections, TRS had captured GHMC with landslide majority of 99 in the 150-member body.
The MIM was the second largest party with 44 seats, while the BJP was a distant with only four seats.
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Fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi, nine killed
New Delhi (PTI): At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said.
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
