TSIT ■ Hyderabad
Telangana : Elaborate arrangements made for counting of votes in munugode bypoll tomorrow
Hyderabad, Nov 5 (UNI) The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes, polled in the November 3 byelection to Munugode assembly constituency in Nalgonda district of Telangana, on Sunday. The counting of votes will be taken up from 8 am and 21 tables were arranged for the purpose, according to election authorities here.
The votes will be counted in 15 rounds for 298 polling stations. Each round will see the counting of votes from 21 polling stations.
The first round of counting will be held for Choutuppal mandal and its result will be out by 9 am. The fate of major parties in the high-stakes bypoll is likely to be decided by 1300 hours.
The counting centre will be under three-tier security and the EC has imposed section 144 at the counting centres and banned victory rallies after the result. Munugode assembly constituency on Thursday witnessed one of the highest-ever voter turnouts in the country, clocking 93.1 per cent and confirming the steep political stakes involved in the by-election. In 2018 assembly election, Munugode clocked a turnout of 91.3 per cent.
Ruling TRS and BJP have left no stone unturned to mobilise voters and the hype created around the fierce political battle triggered a mammoth turnout. Of the 2.42 lakh electors, around 2.25 lakh cast their votes in the bypoll.
A total of 47 candidates were in the fray in the by-election, caused by the resignation of sitting MLA Komatreddy Raj Gopal Reddy of Congress and joined the BJP.
RajGopal, who won the seat in 2018 Assembly election on the Congress ticket, contested as a BJP candidate this time. He was locked in a direct fight against ruling TRS candidate Kosukuntla Prabhakar Reddy, who won the seat for the first time in 2014 poll but lost to Rajagopal in 2018. The Congress has fielded a woman, Palvai Sravanthi. in Munugode. She is the daughter of Palvai Govardhan Reddy, a five-term MLA from Munugode.
Munugode had been a Left stronghold with CPI winning the segment in 1985,1989,1994, 2004 and 2009. Nalgonda district has been a Congress stronghold and the party had won two Lok Sabha constituencies from Nalgonda and Bhongir in the 2019 election. There is a left aspect to the contest as well, with the CPI and CPI (M) announcing support to the TRS and actively campaigned for the ruling party candidate’s victory.
