22.84 pc polling in Telangana till 11 am

Telangana registered 22.84 per cent polling till 11 am as polling in the first of the seven-phased general elections began on Thursday, according to an official communication.

Of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, polling in 16 began at 7 am, the while voting process in Nizamabad started an hour later.

"Polling process is going on peacefully across Telangana," state Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar said.

TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha, former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi are among the key candidates in the fray from the state.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, K Chandrasekhar Rao, TRS working president K T Rama Rao, Kavitha, Owaisi and film actors Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR and 'Baahubali' moviemaker S S Rajamouli were among those who cast their vote.

 

KCR, along with his wife, exercised his franchise in Chintamadaka village in Siddipet district.

Over 2.97 crore voters would decide the fate of 443 candidates in the state.

In 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-effected Assembly segments under five parliamentary constituencies polling would be held from 7 am to 4 pm.

In Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, where 185 candidates, including more than 170 farmers, are in the fray, voting began from 8 am as mock polling took more time compared to other constituencies in view of the large number of candidates.

The farmers have entered the fray in large numbers to highlight their demand for remunerative price to turmeric and red jowar. The Election Commission decided to conduct polling in Nizamabad with EVMs despite the large number of candidates and made arrangements accordingly.

As many as 145 companies of central paramilitary forces, besides over 55,000 state police have been deployed for security arrangements.