After the Andhra Pradesh Supreme Court dismissed the pleas for overturning the Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election on allegations of manipulation by the ruling YSRCP, the stage is set for the vote to be counted on Sunday.
On April 17th, a vote was held to elect the constituency of Tirupati Lok Sabha (SC).
The count would be done in 25 rounds from 8 a.m. under strict security and COVID-19 security protocols at the DK Government Degree College for Women in Nellore for four assembly segments in the SPSR Nellore district and at SV Arts College in Tirupati for three assembly segments in the Chittoor district said SPSR Nellore collector and returner KVN Chakradhar Babu.
Amid the ruling party’s denied “YSR Congress Party bogus vote” charges, 64.42% of voters had voted in the by-election when the second wave of coronavirus wreaked havoc in the constituency that encompassed the assembly segments of Sarvepalli, Gudur, Sullurpeta and Naidupeta in the SPSR district of Nellore and Tirupati, Srikalahasti and Satyaveedu in the Chittoor district.
The electoral power of 28 candidates, including the YSRCP candidate M. Gurumoorthy, the former Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi from the TDP and Chinta Mohan from the Congress as well as the bureaucrat K. Ratnaprabha from the BJP, who has become a politician, were sealed in the EVMs in the EU the death of seated MP B. Durgaprasad from the YSRCP. ‘
PSA kits
“A reasonable number of PSA kits for counting devices and candidates have been put together in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines,” said the collector. The seating arrangement for the counting agents would be such that between two counting agents there would be an agent in a PSA suit, he said after overseeing the conduct of COVID-19 tests for some of the candidates, agents and media people. You could also get an RT-PCR / RAT report from any authorized laboratory.
A total of 1,000 counting monitors and counting assistants were used with a reserve of 50% in view of the COVID-19 situation. Cell phones / electronic devices are not permitted in the counting halls. The sale of alcohol was banned from midnight on May 1st to 10am on May 3rd. No triumphs are allowed. The winner cannot accompany more than two people.
Meanwhile, chittoor collector M. Hari Narayanan said 70 tables were set up for the 230 electoral exercise at SV Arts College. The count would start at 7 a.m.