AUTO REFRESH ON 56.17% voting recorded till 3 pm
Voting in Telangana is underway. Election Commission has recorded around 56.17 per cent voter turnout so far. Polling for the Telangana Assembly Election 2018 will end at 5 pm in 106 constituencies, while in 13 constituencies, which were classified as Left-Wing Extremist-affected, polling ends at 4 pm. Telangana leaders Kadiyam Srihari, Harihs Rao, Pocharama Srinivas Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao and Jagadish Reddy were among those who cast their vote. Former Union Minister Chiranjeevi and cine actors Nagarjuna cast their vote in Jubilee Hills in the city. After casting his vote, Harish Rao said he expected the overall poll percentage to go up given the indication. Political fortunes of 1,821 candidates will be decided in the first full-fledged election in India's youngest state. Over 28 million electorates are eligible to exercise their franchise in the State, which has a total of 32,815 polling stations across.
In this triangular contest, the Congress-led alliance will be challenging the ruling TRS, and the BJP. Telangana polls are extremely crucial for the caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). The assembly polls in Telangana were originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year, but the House was dissolved on September 6 as per a recommendation by the state cabinet. It is to be seen if KCR's gamble to opt for early elections pays off. Meanwhile, the Congress stitched together an alliance with "Prajakutami" (People's Front) along with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) and the CPI to take on the ruling TRS.
Key candidates
KCR, his 14 cabinet colleagues including a son and a nephew and state presidents of the Congress and the BJP are among 1,821 candidates in the fray for Friday's Assembly elections.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, state Congress working President A. Revanth Reddy and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao's granddaughter N. Suhasini are among the other key candidates whose political fortunes will be decided in the polling. Revanth Reddy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka are also among the key candidates.
BJP's state President K. Laxman is contesting from Musheerabad in Hyderabad, while AIMIM's firebrand leader Akbaruddin Owaisi is seeking election from Chandrayangutta, also in Hyderabad, for a fifth consecutive term.
Counting of votes would be taken up on December 11.