HYDERABAD: As many as 36 people who tested positive for
coronavirus cast their vote between 6pm and 7pm in the by-poll held to
Nagarjuna Sagar assembly constituency on Saturday.
The election commission provided PPE kits to the patients. As not many
Covid-19 patients were there, non-Covid voters were also allowed to cast their votes in many of the polling booths in the constituency in the last one hour. The last one hour of polling was actually allocated to voters who tested positive for Covid-19. Chief electoral officer Shashank Goel said as many as 1,433 postal ballots were polled. These postal ballots included government employees on poll duties, those aged above 80 years and physically and specially challenged voters.
Nearly 2,700
electronic voting machines including control units and VVPATs were moved to the strong room at the state warehousing corporation godowns in Nalgonda district. The election material and strong rooms were sealed in the presence of agents of the respective political parties.
Chief electoral officer Shashank Goel said though it was estimated that the polling would be around 88 per cent, finally the overall polling percentage in
Nagarjuna Sagar by-poll was recorded at 86.18 percent. It was 86.62 percent in 2018. The counting of votes is on May 2.