Telangana Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj said poll scrutiny officers are examining CCTV and webcast footages to determine if bogus voting took place at some assembly segments in Old City of Hyderabad.
The Congress had written to the CEO saying AIMIM workers indulged in rigging and bogus voting at three seats — Chandrayangutta, Bahadurpura and Charminar. “A tense atmosphere was created and no other party agents except AMIM were allowed to enter into the polling stations. In the absence of other party agents, the bogus voting and rigging took place as per the wishes of AMIM. The concerned authorities were unable to check them because of their unruly behaviour,” wrote Congress leader G Niranjan.
In a fresh request today, the party requested to set aside the counting of votes in the above seats till all footages are examined. It is to be noted that Yakutpura, which falls in Old City, recorded the lowest voter turnout in the state at 27.87%.
Another issue raised on the polling day was about the postponement of voting deadline. Though people were supposed to vote only till 5 pm, a rush of voters in the last hours saw people at polling booths late at the night. “At some polling booths in all constituencies, the process went on till 9:30 pm as people arrived late. However, it was wrapped in time in areas closed to Maoist-affected pockets,” said the CEO.
While explaining the safety measures being taken ahead of counting day, the CEO said they are looking into the complaint sent by Congress. “On counting day, the postal ballots will be counted first, and then the EVMs. Each counting table will have a counting supervisor and three assistants”.
Vikas Raj said on polling day, a few EVMs were replaced because they were malfunctioning. “1.8 lakh voters availed postal ballots. They are being brought to Hyderabad for examination. After that, they will be sent to the respective constituencies,” the CEO added.
On December 3, counting will start at 8 am. Since there are more than 500 polling booths in six constituencies, leads will be slow from those seats.
“The EVMs are in strong room and 40 companies of central forces have been deployed to guard them. In a record, we have booked 13,000 cases in Telangana for MCC violations.” added Vikas Raj.
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