Amid several exit polls suggesting thaꦆt the Congress will have an advantage over the ruling BRS in Telangana, counting of votes polled in the November 30 Assembly elections will be taken up at 8 AM on Sunday.
It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked a༒ny miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening.
As many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray in the elections, including BRS supremo Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Rཧeddy and ꦏBJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind and Soyam Bapu Rao.
The BRS fielded candidates in all 119 se🐻ats. The BJP and Janasena contested in 111 and 8 seats respectively in a pre-poll pact while the Congress gave one seat to its ally CPI. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments in the city.
Several segments witnessed tria꧟ngular contests making them keenly watched ones.
KCR contested from two s��egments-Gajwel and Kamareddy- so did Revanth Reddy-Kodangal and Kamareddy. The BJP fiel🎶ded its MLA, Etala Rajender, from Gajwel, besides Huzurabad, where he is the incumbent legislator.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed severꦏal meetings during the campaign period, besides a roadshow in Hyderabad on Monday amid huge fanfare while KCR spoke at 96 rallies, during the high-octane campaign.
The BRS campaign centred on🌸 the previous Congress regime's failures and ongoing welfare measures for farmers and women. Rao also highlighted his struggle to achieve Telan✃gana statehood.
The Congress focussed mainly on the alleged corruption of the💯 BRS government while highlighting its "six guarantees" and a need for a "change" in regime.
The BJP's campaign highlighted the necessity of a "double engine government", "family rule" 🍃of KCR and alleged corruption, besides promising to make a Backward Caste leader the CM.
A voter turnout of 71.34 per cent of the eligible 3.26 crore elect𒆙ors was recorded in elections to the 119-member Legislative Assemb𓆉ly on November 30 which passed off peacefully, barring a few minor incidents.
The Munugode Assembly constituency recorded the highest 91.89 per cent v🐼oter turnout whꦑile Yakutpura segment recorded the lowest with 39.64 per cent, the office of Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Friday.
Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj told reporters here on Friday that the counting will start first with postal ballots at 8 am and from 8.30 am coun꧟ting of votes in EVMs will begin.
The CEO further said every counting centre will have 14 counting tables except for six con✤stituencies where the number of polling stations ඣis more than 500 and at such places 28 counting tables will be used.
He said every counting centre will ha꧙ve three cordons consisting of central security forces and state armed police force on the day of counting.
All the EVMs have been seaไled and 40 companies of CAPF have been deployed for guꦛarding the EVM strongrooms and for the counting, and CCTV cameras have been put up in strongrooms.
Most of the exit polls predicted a♛n advantage to the Congress in Telangana.
