77.63 pc polling in 2nd phase of rural local body polls

The second phase of polls to Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies saw 77.63 per cent of over 50 lakh voters exercised their franchise, the State Election Commission said here Friday.

The election was held for 179 ZPTCs, for which 805 candidates, including 162 independents, are in the fray.

Officials said polling was held for 1850 MPTCs, for which 6,146 candidates are in the fray.

The SEC said the poll percentage stood at 77.63 per cent.

The elections were held from 7 AM to 5 PM, while in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas, it started at 7 AM and concluded at 4 PM, officials said.

Unanimous elections had earlier been held for 63 MPTCs and one ZPTC seat.

The first phase of polling on May 6 witnessed 76.80 per cent voter turnout.

The Telangana State Election Commission had last month released the election schedule for 5,817 MPTCs and 539 ZPTCs and announced that the first phase polls would held on May 6, the second on May 10 and the third on May 14.

Around 1.56 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections to two upper tiers of local bodies.

The elections are being held through ballot and counting would be held on May 27, officials had earlier said.

After the ZPTC and MPTC polls, Mandal Praja Parishad and Zilla Praja Parishad (ZPP) members will be elected.

The assembly elections were held in December 2018 and the panchayat polls in January this year.

Elections to 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state were held on April 11.