An estimated 45 per cent polling was reported in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election today, which passed off peacefully barring minor clashes in the old city area.
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In all, 1,333 candidates were in the fray for the 150 municipal wards.
This is the first GHMC election after formation of Telangana state and the second after Greater Hyderabad was created in 2007 with the merger of eight municipalities and 12 villages of neighbouring districts with Hyderabad.
Voters in some divisions complained that their names were missing from the voters’ list.
On Monday, food was provided to over 55,000 election staff who were conducting dry runs for Tuesday’s poll.
Polling began on a tiresome note but the GHMC officials hope that the turnout will pick up as the day progresses. The voting at ongoing civic body polls in Hyderabad is on a rather slow pace. However, the polling staff did not allow the person to vote.
At a few polling booths in Kondapur where the EVMs malfunctioned, the ECIL officials rectified them, said GHMC poll officials.
Popular Telugu actors Nagarjuna, Ramcharan, Allu Arjun, junior NTR and Balakrishna, who is a TDP MLA in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, were among the celebrities who exercised their franchise in the polls.
10 AM: Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and his wife stepped into the ASCI College to cast their vote.
Mild tension prevailed at Mirchowk in the old city when activists of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Congress clashed towards the fag end of the polling process.
Telangana’s Information Technology Minister K. Tarakarama Rao, who led the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s campaign, cast his vote in Banjara Hills.
Demanding arrest of MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and others involved, the Congress leaders staged a sit-in at the office of director general of police.
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In this GHMC Elections 2016, there are 150 Divisions and more than 1334 Members are Participating For this Elections From Different Wards.
