Polling in wards of the Old City was slow in the first few hours in the morning with empty booths and voters were entering in twos or threes, but as the day proceeded, the more electors started to trickle in.
Security was beefed up and those who entered polling stations with phones were turned back. ID documents were sought from each voter.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi cast his vote at St. Faiz School.
A voter of Ward Number 32, Pathergatti, Haseeb Samad, went to cast his vote early in the morning with his wife around 7.30 a.m. He was able to complete the process in less than five minutes on account of the low turnout.
"We went to Princess Esin School. There were not more than three or four people. We didn't even have to watch t in line, because there was no queue. It took us a couple of minutes,” he said.
Similarly, ward Number 30 Dabeerpura voter Mohammed Abdul Rafey, businessman and resident of Noor Khan Bazaar went to cast his vote at the Government Girls School, Chaaderghat, only a handful had cast their vote.
"I went at 8.30 am to the polling station. I was the 15th to cast the vote. The turnout was very low," he said.
Since both voted on ballot papers in the pre-EVM era, they said that they were familiar with the system and did not face any confusion.
Later, around 10 a.m., the turnout at polling stations increased slightly.