Nandyal by-polls: Counting of votes underway even as TDP leads

The first round of counting in the by-polls in the Nandyal constituency in Andhra Pradesh has been completed with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) amassing 5,474 votes, while the YSR Congress Party (YCP) has garnered 4,179 votes.

The Nandyal constituency has been witnessing a battle of prestige between Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress Party.

The counting began at 8:00 am, at the Nandyal Government Polytechnic College.

In Nandyal, 39 out of 250 postal ballots have been deemed invalid and 211 people chose the NOTA option.

The total votes received were 2,18,858, while 1,73,189 people voted - 84,549 were male and 88,639 were female voters.

A total of 19 rounds of counting will be conducted at Nandyal.

LED screens have been arranged to show counting outside the counting centre.

It has also been made compulsory to carry a pass allotted by the Election Commission to enter into counting centre.

First, rural votes will be counted and then the urban votes of Nandyal will be calculated.

The by-election in the constituency was held following the death of sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy in March.

Reddy had won the seat in 2014 as the YSRCP candidate, but jumped over to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 2016.

Though there are 15 candidates in the fray, the main fight is between the TDP and the YSRCP.