Polling underway for 119 assembly seats in Telangana
Hyderabad (PTI): Polling is underway to elect 119 members of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, with voters queuing up to exercise their franchise amid tight security on Thursday.
Voting began at 7 AM in the 35,655 polling stations across the state, officials said.
Polling would be held till 5 PM in 106 constituencies, while it would conclude at 4 PM in 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected seats.
There are 3.26 crore eligible voters, including 1,63,13,268 male voters and 1,63,02,261 female electors, in the state.
As many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray for the upcoming elections, including Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son K T Rama Rao, state Congress president A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind.
The model code of conduct came into force in the state after the Election Commission announced the schedule on October 9.
BRS has fielded candidates in all 119 seats.
As per the seat sharing agreement, BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan-headed Jana Sena are contesting in 111 and 8 seats respectively.
The Congress has given one seat to its ally CPI, and is fighting from 118 others.
Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments in the city.
More than 2.5 lakh staff will be engaged in poll duties for the assembly elections, Chief Electoral officer Vikas Raj has said.
About 77,000 security personnel, comprising state police and Home Guards drawn from the state and neighbouring states, besides 375 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), have been deployed across the state as part of the security arrangements for the election.
For the first time in Telangana, home voting facility was provided to persons with disabilities and voters above 80 years.
As on November 29, law enforcement agencies have seized cash, gold, liquor, freebies among others all worth about Rs 745 crore in the state ever since the model code of conduct came into force in the state on October 9, an official release said.
The EC has ordered all private establishments including IT firms to declare holiday on November 30 to enable employees to exercise their franchise.
The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, his Tripura counterpart N Indrasena Reddy, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy are among the prominent leaders who will cast their votes in the elections.
CM Chandrasekhar Rao would exercise his franchise at his native Chintamadaka village in Siddipet district, official sources said.
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“Not at all interested in watching it” state BJP Chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar distances himself from ‘
Thiruvanthapuram: Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday, February 23, said he does not intend to watch the upcoming controversial Hindi film ‘The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond.’
He was addressing media persons after inaugurating the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) zonal office at Thrikkakara in Kochi.
According to a report by The Hindu, Chandrasekhar’s remarks come amid the films trailer attracting sharp criticism from several sections of the state. Many have also alleged that the movie showcases Kerala in a negative manner.
Speaking to presspersons he clearly stated, “I am not at all interested in watching it.” He added that those who wish to see the film may do so, and those who are not interested need not watch it.
Referring to freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution, the BJP leader said that it is for the courts to decide whether there is anything unlawful in a film.
“Everyone has the right to make a film. If there is anything illegal in it, the court of law will strike it down,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Responding to media when asked about if the state BJP chief had any objection to the content shown in the trailer of The Kerala Story 2, Chandrasekhar did not directly comment on the film’s content.
However he repeated that he was not going to watch it.
Meanwhile, Chandrashekar stated that he liked watching Dhurandhar and had watched it twice.
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the spy thriller had also sparked debate over claims that it supported the BJP’s political narrative.
Chandrashekar also pointed out that he had taken a similar stand during the row over Mohanlal starrer Empuraan.
Empuraan had faced criticism from right-wing supporters over its alleged depiction of the Godhra riots and later underwent re-censoring.
