Voting picks up in northern Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: Polling picked up in the north coastal Andhra Pradesh districts after a dull start at 7am on Thursday. According to district electoral officials, the polling per centage by 1 m in Visakhapatnam district was 36.71%, compared to 9% at 9am.

Similarly, the polling per centage rose to 37.92% at 1 pm in Srikakulam district, 53.19% in Viziangaram, and 41.21% in East Godavari district.

The polling was largely peaceful, though voters had to grapple with the summer heat, with temperatures reaching the high thirties in the region, according to the weather department. Vizianagaram district recorded a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius at noon.

Candidates of the major political parties for parliament cast their ballots in their constituencies early in the day. M Sri Bharat of the TDP, MVV Satyanarayana of the YSRCP, VV Lakshminarayana and D. Purandeswari of the TDP cast their ballots in Visakhapatnam.

In Vizianagaram, sitting MP Ashok Gajapati Raju cast his ballot, while Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, the sitting MP of Srikakulam, cast his vote with his wife and mother in Srikakulam.