Invalid votes changed the fate of A few candidates in GHMC elections 2020

GHMC Elections 2020: The recently held GHMC elections have turned the future of some candidates upside down with the fake votes. In the GHMC elections, the number of invalid votes in the polls rose sharply as many voters did not cast in the ballots. A total of 150 divisions recorded the highest number of rejected votes. Hyderabad voters who are used to EVMs have seen a huge increase in the number of invalid votes as they had cast their vote incorrectly on ballot papers.

In the GHMC election fight, there was a fierce battle between the TRS and the BJP. In some divisions, there was a tough fight between the two parties where invalid votes were recorded which turned the fate of the candidates upside down. In the 144th Division Mettiguda, there are a total of 39,268 votes. But, only 16,852 votes got cast. TRS candidate Sarita got 7,592 votes and BJP candidate Sharada got 7008 votes. But here 230 votes were cast in the name of 'NOTA' and 340 votes were invalid. Thus BJP lost this seat with a narrow margin.

Even in Habsiguda, BJP got 10,803 votes and TRS got 9,356 votes but NOTA bagged 218 votes and 426 were invalid votes. In Vanasthalipuram, BJP got 9,214 votes, TRS got 8,512 votes and NOTA got 259 votes. Another 268 votes were invalid and the fate of the candidate got changed. The situation is similar in approximately 120 divisions. 100 to 300 votes polled to 'NOTA' in each division and invalid votes of 300 to 500 in the same wards changed the victories.

The SEC initially felt that any kind of vote on the ballot should be considered valid. But the High Court's order is opposite to this decision. The Court ordered to count only the votes which are polled to 'Swastik' symbol.

The TRS party lost 17 seats by a narrow margin in the GHMC elections. It lost in six divisions by a margin of fewer than 310 votes. The TRS Party lost by 32 votes in BN Reddy, 178 in Malkajgiri, 227 in Adikmet, 279 in Hastinapuram, 287 in Vinayak Nagar and 310 in Ramgopalpet.

In another seven places, the TRS party suffered a defeat by less than a thousand votes. In Ramnagar the candidate lost by 528, Moosapeta by 538, Ramantapur by 655, Vanasthalipuram by 702, Jubilee Hills by 779, Mangalhat by 809 and Saidabad by 911 votes. Even the TRS party won four seats by a margin of less than 15 votes. The TRS lost by 135 votes in Gachibowli, 301 in Ameerpet, 1447 in Habsiguda and 1477 in Kavadiguda.