Repolling begins at 12 polling stations in six ULBs in Andhra

Repolling began at 12 polling stations in six urban local bodies across Andhra Pradesh on Monday following reports of alleged booth capturing during November 1 elections, the SEC said.

The repolling commenced at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm.

State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha issued separate orders late Sunday declaring elections conducted at the affected stations void and directing fresh polling on November 2.

In YSR Kadapa district, repolling will be held at three polling stations -- Jammalamadugu Municipality, covering Ward Nos. 3, 17 and 29, and one polling station in Ward 15 of Kadapa Municipal Corporation.

Fresh polling will also take place at four polling stations in Pulivendula Municipality, covering Ward Nos. 1, 3, 7 and 8.

Also Read: Andhra youth, who attacked schoolgirl with chainsaw, injured in police firing during ‘escape attempt’

The orders were issued after reports from the district administration and district election authority stating that booth capturing had taken place and the poll process had been vitiated, depriving voters of their right to exercise their franchise.

In Palnadu district, repolling has been ordered at two polling stations in Ward 23 of Macherla Municipality. In Anantapur district, fresh polling will be held at one polling station in Ward 30 of Anantapuramu Municipal Corporation.

Similarly, one polling station in Ward 14 of Chimakurthy Municipality in Prakasam district will also go for repolling.

The SEC directed the respective district collectors and municipal election authorities to inform contesting candidates in writing and give wide publicity about the repolling arrangements in the concerned areas through print and electronic media.

Also Read: Local body polls underway in Andhra Pradesh, TDP-YSRCP workers clash in Pulivendula

Voters participating in the repoll will have indelible ink applied to the middle finger of their left hand.

Polling for the 100 urban local bodies across Andhra Pradesh was held on Sunday. A tentative voter turnout of 60.3 per cent was recorded, with 58,48,040 votes polled out of 96,89,061 registered voters across 3,453 wards.

The SEC said polling was peaceful in most areas, barring a few incidents reported from certain places.