Hyderabad, Apr 17(UNI) About 12.9 percent polling was recorded in the Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly bypoll in the first two hours, after voting has commenced at 0700 hours on Saturday.
Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Dr Shashank Goel said, the Returning Officer has reported that the percentage of polling up to 9 AM is 12.9 per cent.
The polling will end at 7 PM as one hour is dedicated for Covid-19 patients to exercise their franchise.
Polling is progressing peacefully in 346 polling stations in the constituency in Nalgonda district as voters queued up outside the booths to cast their votes.
TRS Candidate Nomula Bhagath cast his vote at 168/A polling booth in Mandal Parishad Upper Primary School at Ibrahimpatnam.
Over 2.20 lakh voters including over 1.11 lakh female voters, will decide the fate of the contesting candidates in the byelection.
The Counting of votes will be taken up on May 2.
Except a few minutes delay in voting at a polling booth in Thotipeta of Tirumalgiri (Sagar) Mandal due to a technical glitch, there was no other incidents reported so far.
The main fight is between the ruling TRS candidate Bhagat, son of the late Nomula Narsimhaiah, Seven time MLA and former Congress Minister K Jana Reddy, who lost to Narasimhaiah in the 2018 assembly election and BJP candidate Dr Ravi Kumar.
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of TRS sitting MLA Nomula Narsimhaiah in December last year.
The district administration has made arrangements for the bypoll in compliance with COVID-19 protocol, and tight security measures have been taken.
Mr Goel said wearing a mask is mandatory to enter a polling booth and the rule of ‘no mask, no entry' into polling booths will be implemented strictly.
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