VIJAYAWADA: The voter turnout in Andhra Pradesh is expected to touch 81% with polling continuing till 2 am on Tuesday. Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena in an informal interaction with mediapersons said voting percentage was estimated to be 78.25% as of midnight. He added that the number will go up marginally, as voters in around 20 polling stations cast their votes till early morning on Tuesday.
As votes cast through postal ballots accounted for 1.2% of voters, total voting percentage stood at 79.4%. In 2019, 79.8% voting was recorded. Scores of women and elderly people thronged the polling booths after 4 pm on Monday to cast their vote. This is said to be one of the reasons for the prolonged polling in some places. Voting was affected at 20 polling stations due to EVM-related issues.
As per data obtained from district election officers, the highest voter turnout was reported in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district and the lowest in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. The figures might change as data was still being collated at the time the report was filed.
Voter turnout stood at 80.30% in Kakinada district, with Pithapuram recording the highest polling of 86.63%. East Godavari district reported 80.93% voter turnout with Rajanagaram recording 87.53%, followed by 86.23% in Anaparthi. Except for Rajahmundry Urban and Rural segments, all other Assembly constituencies reported polling above 80%.
Nandyal district in Rayalaseema region reported 81.12% voting with Nandyal Assembly segment recording 75% turnout. Allagadda recorded the highest polling of 83.12%.
Chittoor district logged 82.65% polling with Kuppam reporting the highest voting at 85.87%. All the Assembly segments in the district reported above 80% polling. Sri Sathya Sai district reported 82.77% voting with Dharmavaram Assembly segment recording highest turnout of 88.61%.
Bapatla district reported 82.33% voter turnout, while Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema reported 83.19%. The highest voter turnout of 87.50% was reported in Mandapeta Assembly segment. Except for Razole, all other segments reported polling above 80%. Eluru district reported 83.04% with voter turnout of 87.75% at Ungutur.
NTR district reported 78.70% with Jaggayyapet and Nandigama reporting the highest voter turnout of 86.50%. Krishna district reported 82.20%.