T'gana municipal polls: Counting of votes begins

The counting of votes polled in the February 11 elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana began on Friday morning. The counting began at 123 centres across the state at 8 AM. The outcome of the three-cornered contest involving the ruling Congress and opposition BJP and BRS is crucial for all of them as it would be an indicator of their popularity among the voters. The counting process of votes is expected to take time as ballot papers were used in the election. Postal ballots were taken up first for counting. Elaborate security and other arrangements have been made to ensure that the exercise passes off smoothly. Director General of Police (DGP) B Shivadhar Reddy has said comprehensive and foolproof security arrangements have been put in place for the counting of votes. Nearly 12,000 police personnel and Quick Response Teams have been deployed at the counting centres to maintain law and order, he said. Prohibitory orders would be in force and around the counting centres. Only the counting supervisors, counting assistants, candidates and their election and counting agents would be allowed inside the counting hall. The State Election Commission (SEC) said webcasting would be made in all the counting centres and outside the strong rooms. Over 73 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the elections. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal in Delhi on February 12, told them that Congress would get good results in the urban polls, party sources said here. BJP leader and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy hoped that the saffron party would get impressive results despite the alleged misuse of power and distribution of money by the Congress. After its major success in the gram panchayat elections in December last year, the ruling Congress aims to consolidate its position as the dominant player in state politics by scoring emphatic wins in the urban local bodies. Hoping to emerge as a credible alternative to both the Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which earlier ruled the state for two terms, the BJP conducted a spirited campaign in the municipal polls. Having suffered setbacks in the 2023 assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BRS came up with a decent performance in the gram panchayat polls and is keen to make substantial gains in the municipal elections to reverse its fortunes in the state.