VIJAYAWADA: The MPTC and ZPTC elections in Krishna and NTR districts witnessed a voter turnout of 74.15 per cent, with more than 13.59 lakh voters exercising their franchise on Thursday.
Several mandals recorded polling of over 80 per cent, while some polling segments reported nearly 90 per cent turnout, indicating considerable participation in the rural local body elections.
Of the total 18,33,570 voters in the two districts, 13,59,616 cast their votes. Krishna district recorded 7,30,494 votes out of 9,98,055 voters, registering 73.50 per cent polling. NTR district recorded 6,29,122 votes out of 8,35,515 voters, with a turnout of 75.30 per cent.
In Krishna district, Machilipatnam North and Thotlavalluru mandals recorded more than 80 per cent polling, while Nagayalanka registered the lowest turnout at 66.62 per cent.
In NTR district, G. Konduru, Nandigama and Gampalagudem mandals recorded more than 80 per cent polling, while Vijayawada Rural registered the lowest turnout at 61.88 per cent.
The elections covered 42 ZPTC and 619 MPTC seats across the two districts, excluding 13 MPTC seats declared unanimous.
In Krishna district, elections were held for 26 ZPTC and 343 MPTC seats, with 74 candidates contesting for ZPTC and 774 for MPTC positions.
The district had 1,266 polling stations. In NTR district, elections were conducted for 16 ZPTC and 276 MPTC seats, with 55 candidates contesting for ZPTC and 631 for MPTC positions. A total of 992 polling stations were arranged.
Meanwhile, polling concluded peacefully in NTR and Krishna districts without any untoward incidents.
NTR District Collector G Lakshmisha said polling, which commenced at 7 am, continued smoothly and transparently until 5 pm.
Officials issued tokens to voters waiting in queues at the closing time, enabling them to exercise their franchise.
The Collector toured Vijayawada, Nandigama and Tiruvuru divisions to monitor polling arrangements.
He visited polling stations at Bodapadu in Vijayawada Rural, Velagaluru in G Konduru, Pulluru in Mylavaram, Paritala in Kanchikacherla and Ramachandrapuram in A Konduru mandals to review the polling process and security arrangements.
He said more than 5,200 election personnel were deployed across 992 polling stations in NTR district.
Webcasting and CCTV surveillance were arranged at 496 polling stations, including sensitive locations, with continuous monitoring from the district command control room.
He appreciated the coordinated efforts of election officials and the police department in ensuring peaceful polling.
In Krishna district, Collector and District Election Officer DK Balaji supervised the election arrangements and ensured coordination among officials and staff.
Elaborate arrangements were made at all 1,266 polling stations to facilitate smooth and transparent polling.
He appealed to voters to exercise their franchise freely without yielding to inducements.
Lakshmisha said rural areas witnessed considerable voter participation, with people living in towns and distant places returning to their native villages to cast their votes.
After polling, ballot boxes were sealed in the presence of party representatives and shifted to strong rooms under tight security.
