Greater Hyderabad Repeats its Record with Polling?
Greater Hyderabad went to pooling under phase 4 of the Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday. Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Chevella, and Malkajgiri have the lowest turnout in Telangana. Repeating the lowest turnout record.
Despite repeated appeals by actors, political parties, and election authorities, the Hyderabad people did not turn up as expected. The urban population remained indifferent.
According to figures released by the Election Commission. The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency recorded the lowest turnout in the state until 5 p.m. With only 39.17 percent of voters casting their votes. This is far below the state’s average turnout of 62.48 percent and a decrease from the 45 percent polling recorded in 2019. The final numbers will be released by the poll panel on Tuesday, and the current figures are provisional.
The Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency recorded the second-lowest polling at 42.48 percent. A decrease of 3 percent compared to the 2019 polls. Malkajgiri, India’s largest constituency with 37.80 lakh voters, also failed to cross the 50 percent polling mark. The seat saw 49.60 percent polling, almost at par with 2019 figures. Only 50.34 percent of voters cast their votes in the by-election for the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly constituency, one of the seven segments under Malkajgiri.
Greater Hyderabad Repeats its Record with Polling?
Chevella constituency, which encompasses key urban clusters, including the information technology district of Cyberabad, recorded 53.15 percent polling, making it the fourth-lowest in the state. The Serilingampally segment, which has the highest number of software professionals, saw only 41.40 percent turnout. It is part of the Chevella Lok Sabha constituency.
Many techies apparently skipped polling after packing their bags for extended holidays. Despite pleasant weather, polling centers in some segments saw queues from early in the morning, while the booths were deserted in the majority of the segments.
Among the Assembly segments in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency, Malakpet recorded the lowest polling at 37.84 percent. Charminar recorded a 38 percent turnout, while Chandrayangutta witnessed 38.24 percent voting, followed by Karwan at 40.57 percent. Nampally, a part of the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, recorded only 37.30 percent turnout. The polling percentage in Jubilee Hills segment was 39.38 percent.
After polling on Monday, various sections have voiced concerns over the declining poll percentage in the urban segments. Despite the Election Commission roping in celebrities, and NGOs organizing various programs to appeal to people to come out and exercise their franchise in large numbers, the low turnout was a cause for worry.
During the campaign, political parties and candidates urged people to participate in the polling process in large numbers. However, these appeals had little impact on urban voters. Like in the past, the majority of voters in the four Lok Sabha constituencies enjoyed the holiday declared for polling but stayed away from the election process.
Union Minister and state BJP chief G. Kishan Reddy attributed the low turnout this year to the fact that polling in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were held on the same day. He pointed out that a large number of people left for the neighboring state to cast votes in the simultaneous elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday.
