Polling for the Nagarjunasagar Assembly constituency, amid strict COVID norms, will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
A total 2,20,300 registered voters, out of which 1,11,072 are women, will choose from among 41 contestants. The polling day will also witness about 2,700 voters aged 80 and above, while 1,542 will be first-time voters.
This election will see a ‘vote struggle’ among two first-time contestants, TRS’ Nomula Bhagat and BJP’s Ravi Kumar Naik, and Congress’ septuagenarian Kunduru Jana Reddy.
Returning Officer B. Rohit Singh said that polling will begin at 7 a.m., after mock polling in the presence of political party representatives at around 6.15 a.m. He said that all arrangements have been made for free, fair and peaceful elections.
The Assembly constituency has 346 polling stations and 108 of them were identified as critical and hyper-critical. Each station is assigned at least four polling staff and equipped with one control unit, three ballot units (each unit accommodates 16 candidates) and one Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).
Besides polling staff who will be wearing masks, face shields and gloves, every voter will also be given a disposable glove to operate the ballot unit. As a rule, in addition to carrying any one of the 11 documents prescribed by the ECI for ID proof, voters will have to compulsorily wear a mask to enter the polling station.
Superintendent of Police A.V. Ranganath toured critical polling stations and reviewed security arrangements on Friday. He informed that about 4,000 police personnel, including 270 central policemen, will be on duty to ensure peaceful conduct of polling. Till Friday, ₹50 lakh cash was seized and liquor worth ₹45 lakh was confiscated, he said and for violation of poll code, 190 cases have been booked.
General Observer Sajjansingh R. Chavan, meanwhile. in Nalgonda town, inspected arrangements at the Government Polytechnic College near Arjalabavi, where the polled EVMs and the statutory material will be received after conclusion of polling process. Counting of votes, as per the schedule, will be on May 2.
