Parishad elections: First phase goes off peacefully

Warangal: The first phase of elections to the zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) and mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) in erstwhile Warangal district went off peacefully on Monday.

The voter turnout in Warangal Urban district was 75.92 per cent. The mandal-wise break up: Hasanparthy 77.83 per cent, Elkathurthy 80.21 per cent, Kamalapur 74.65 per cent and Bheemadevarapally 72.93 mandals. On the other hand, Warangal Rural district registered 80.67 per cent voter turnout while Mahabubabad recorded 76.62 per cent. The polling went off peacefully in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district. The three mandals - Bhupalpally, Ghanpur and Regonda – registered a voter turnout of 69.62 per cent. Since the district is close to Chhattisgarh border which is infested with Left-wing extremism, the polling was held between 7 am and 4 pm. Superintendent of Police R Bhaskaran said that there was no untoward incident in all the 211 polling stations, including those critical in nature. We kept a close watch on the movements of Maoists with the help of locals, he added.

Voter turnout in Devaruppula, Palakurthy, Lingala Ghanpur and Kodakandla mandals of Jangaon district was 78.02 per cent. Despite the scorching temperatures prevailing in the erstwhile Warangal district, the voter turnout was said to be impressive.