Amid the call for a boycott of the elections by the main opposition party Telugu Desam, elections were held on Thursday in a peaceful manner for the constituencies of Mandal and Zilla Parishad on the south coast of Andhra Pradesh.
Approximately 51% of voters exercised their right to vote in the polls in Nellore and Prakasam districts, with post-outbreak post-epidemic COVID-19 protocols being strictly followed in cases in the area.
In the Nellore district, 51.87% of the 13.38 lakh voters exercised their right to vote. The percentage of polls in the Prakasam district was estimated at 50.88%, officials said.
Despite the scorching heat, people wearing face masks and maintaining social distance waited in queues at polling stations while health workers checked their body temperature with thermal scanners. Voters were also given a hand sanitizer to clean their hands before they were allowed to enter the booths.
“We have taken every precaution including disinfecting voting booths and supplying face masks and disinfectants in light of the rise in COVID cases. The vote was peaceful, ”said Nellore collector KVN Chakradhar Babu after webcasting the elections for 34 ZPTC and 366 MPTC seats.
A repoll was ordered in Penugodu, AS Peta Mandal, as the ballot box was submerged in water after a clash between the YSRCP and the BJP activists.
In the meantime, Nellore District CPI Secretary Ch. Prabakar has called for a re-vote in the village of Nelaballi-Retapalli, claiming that the party symbol was incorrectly printed on the ballot paper.
Strict surveillance
Police made lavish tape busts as staff ensured strict surveillance using drone cameras, body-worn cameras, and video surveillance devices. No unusual incident was reported by 2,194 polling stations, including 223 oversensitive and 351 sensitive booths set up for elections to 41 ZPTC and 367 MPTC seats in the Prakasam district.
The Deputy Inspector General of the Guntur Range, CM Trivikrama Varma, and the Superintendent of Police, Praiddam, Siddharth Kaushal, oversaw the elections at many stands. Parapolice volunteers helped elderly and disabled voters.