Urban apathy dents polling percentage in Tirupati district

Tirupati: The poor voter response in Tirupati Municipal Corporation dragged down the overall polling percentage in Tirupati district to 53.65 percent, despite all the other four municipalities recording turnouts above 60 percent.

The Corporation registered just 45.26 percent polling by 5 pm on Sunday, failing to cross even the halfway mark, according to preliminary figures released by the District Election Authority and District Collector.

Among the four other municipalities, Puttur recorded the highest turnout at 78.73 percent, followed by Naidupeta at 69.99 percent, Venkatagiri at 69.25 percent and Sullurupeta at 65.18 percent. Voters were still standing in queues at several polling stations at the close of polling hours and who can exercise their franchise. Heavy afternoon rain was also believed to have affected voter participation, particularly in Tirupati.

The low turnout in the Corporation assumed significance against the backdrop of the 2021 municipal elections, when it recorded 53.80 percent polling. The latest figure represented a decline of more than eight percentage points, highlighting the apparent reluctance of a considerable section of urban voters to participate in the electoral process.

In the erstwhile Chittoor district, Nagari registered the highest turnout at 78.77 percent followed by Kuppam at 75.38 percent, Palamaner at 72.77 percent and Chittoor Corporation at 62.53 percent. In Annamayya district, Madanapalle municipality recorded 71 percent polling, while Punganur registered 63.47 percent by the time polling concluded at 5 pm.

Meanwhile, an alleged bogus voting incident was reported from the eighth ward of Palamaner municipality. A woman, Ayesha, alleged that someone had cast her vote before she reached the polling station.

After polling staff informed her that her vote had already been recorded, she protested outside the booth and sought the intervention of election officials, urging them to investigate the incident and protect her voting rights.

In Tirupati, mild tension prevailed in Divisions 48 and 49 following allegations of bogus voting. CPM district secretary Vandavasi Nagaraju and city secretary K Venugopal alleged that ruling alliance leaders had attempted rigging and bogus voting in the divisions where CPM candidates were contesting. They claimed that CPM activists and polling agents had thwarted the attempts and demanded a comprehensive inquiry, including scrutiny of webcasting footage and CCTV recordings.

In Division 60, Jana Sena’s official candidate Akepati Subhashini accused rebel candidate Adam Sudhakar Reddy, also belonging to the party, of attempting to rig the election. She alleged that outsiders had arrived in large numbers to influence the polling process.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pradeep Vennelakanti

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