Polling peaceful in Nellore, registers 77.24% voting
SP Bhaskar Bhushan helping the elderly people to exercise their franchise in BR Palem mandal on Sunday.
Nellore: The fourth phase of polling for gram panchayat elections went off peacefully in Nellore division on Sunday registering 77.24 percentage of voting up to 3.30 pm. Six mandals recorded around 80 per cent of polling. The polls were conducted to elect 181 sarpanches and 1,527 ward members in 12 mandals of the division.
Nellore Rural, Thotapalli Gudur, and Manubolu registered the highest polling percentage of around 83; Indukurpet, Venkatachalam, and Buchireddipalem registered around 80 per cent of polling on Sunday. Kovur mandal which is close to the district headquarters registered the least with only 65.5 per cent. Out of total voters of 4,42,850, only 3,36,554 have exercised their franchise.
In fact, polling has been on a dull note in the early hours due to intermittent drizzles and moderate rainfall in many areas which hampered the process. It was only 8.44 per cent up to 8.30 am and the process started picking up from 9.30 am increasing up to 24.42 per cent. The polling registered at 1.30 pm was 67.99 per cent. Finally, 77.24 per cent polling registered by 3.30 pm.
Administration arranged 1,949 polling stations in the division deputing 34 zonal officers, 105 route officers, 4,888 polling staff members and 2,880 police personnel. 220 micro-observers were also deployed for overseeing the process and officials arranged webcasting in 153 polling stations and videography in 135 polling stations.
District Collector K V N Chakradhar Babu visited Damaramadugu and Rebala villages in BR Palem; Yallayapalem and North Rajupalem in Kodavaluru mandal along with SP Bhaskar Bhushan. Around 120 members from Indian Red Cross provided services to the elderly, physically challenged and patients. DSP cadre officials arranged at the problematic areas to prevent untoward incidents. There were allegations against the YSRCP activists who threatened the people in Muthukur, TP Gudur, Manubole and Podalakur mandals. There was an exchange of heated discussions between the groups of ruling and opposition parties in Patha Vangallu of Kodavalur mandal.