GVMC registers 51.47% poll percentage

Visakhapatnam: From 3.34 per cent in the initial two hours of Sunday, polling in 120 wards of Visakhapatnam for GVMC elections gained pace as the day progressed. Of the total 18,37,901 voters, 9,45,915 tentatively utilised their democratic right, registering a 51.47 per cent poll percentage. Of them, 4,55,395 were male voters and 4,90,519 were women voters. Most polling booths, deserted from morning to afternoon, gradually started witnessing voters turnout. With the poll day coinciding with Sunday, many people visited the polling stations after lunch time.

By 5 pm, the cut-off time for the local body polls, several voters were already inside the booths waiting to cast their votes. The concerned authorities allowed voters who entered the station premises by 5 pm to exercise their franchise. Following this, officials informed that the polling exercise was likely to continue till night. However, the absence of Gen-Z in a majority of booths appeared surprising. Political leaders cite the weekend coupled with the T20 match between India and New Zealand as reasons for the low youth turnout.

After casting his vote and visiting the polling booths in north constituency, MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju noticed that the stations witnessed low turnout.

“Polling should not be scheduled on a Sunday. If it’s a weekday, voters will automatically feel responsible to vote as they are obliged to do so due to the declared holiday. But it’s not the case on a weekend,” he responded when asked about the poor voter participation in the local body polls. 15 Candidates are in the race for the Mayor’s post, while 573 contestants vie for the corporator positions in 120 wards of the GVMC.

TDP Mayor candidate Mukka Sravani and YSRCP Mayor candidate Varudu Kalyani had cast their votes. BJP state president PVN Madhav, Visakhapatnam M Sribharat, MLAs Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, P Vishnu Kumar Raju, Palla Srinivasa Rao, among others, exercised their franchise along with their family members in their respective polling booths. YSRCP leaders, including Gudivada Amarnath, M Srinivasa Rao and KK Raju, also exercised their franchise. As many as 1,990 polling stations were set up for the corporation elections. Helpdesks and medical desks were arranged at polling stations to assist voters. Meanwhile, wheelchairs were provided for senior citizens. Barring a few incidents, the 2026 civic polls were conducted hassle-free across the 10 zones

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vasu Potnuru

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Potnuru Srinivasa Rao (Vasu Potnuru) is an experienced journalist specialised in politics, sports, crime, general topics and tribal stories. With 18 years of writing and reporting expertise, he contributes to The Hans India's editorial department as Principal Correspondent based in Visakhapatnam. Vasu Potnuru completed his Bachelor of Business Management. Earlier, he worked as a staff reporter in a leading Telugu vernacular. During free time, the journalist spends time listening to music, playing cricket and shuttle badminton. Vasu Potnuru, an accomplished writer, honed his expertise in various genres such as politics, crime, sports and general topics. He received an award from the HYBIZ Media Awards for the Best Rural Story in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Also, he bagged the Best Crime Reporter Award in Visakhapatnam. He serves in different unions of working journalists and contributes to service activities.

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