The stage is set for counting of votes in the 120 municipalities and nine corporations that went to polls on January 22 on Saturday.
The State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for counting, drafting over 10,000 personnel for the job. The counting will start at 8 a.m. and the first result is expected in two hours. “The timing of the results will depend on the number of tables set up for counting in the wards. But the first result is likely to be announced in two hours,” State Election Commissioner V. Nagi Reddy said.
Of the 2,727 wards in 120 municipalities and 325 divisions in nine municipal corporations where elections were notified, 81 candidates including 80 from the ruling TRS and one from the MIM were declared elected unopposed. Elections were held to 2,647 wards and 324 divisions with close to 12,900 candidates in the fray.
The election assumes significance as the ruling TRS is confident of winning all the urban local bodies that went to polls. The Congress and the BJP which retained some ground in the Lok Sabha polls after the severe drubbing in the Assembly elections too are confident of putting up an impressive show.
Meanwhile, counting for the Karimnagar municipal corporation with 60 wards where polling was held on Friday will be taken up on January 27.
