VIJAYAWADA: More than 81 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the first phase of panchayat elections, which passed off peacefully barring stray incidents of skirmishes between the supporters of the ruling YSRC and opposition Telugu Desam, in the State on Tuesday.
The results of panchayat sarpanch and ward member posts started trickling in and the YSRC supported candidates have bagged most of the panchayats. The elections to panchayats are fought on non-political basis. But the candidates supported by all the major political parties are in the election fray, resulting in a keen contest.
When the reports last came in, the results of 1,350 panchayats were declared and the YSRC-backed candidates emerged victorious in more than 1,200 panchayats. The ruling party-backed candidates bagged most of the panchayats in Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Chittoor, Nellore and Anantapur districts.
The TDP supported candidates won nearly 75 seats while the BJP-Jana Sena-backed candidates bagged two seats in West Godavari. At least eight seats were won by others who are ‘rebels’ of the main political parties.
In most places, the victory margin was very less and at a couple of places in Guntur and Visakhapatnam, the margin was just one vote. The polling, which started at 6.30 am for the 2,723 gram panchayats at a slow place with just 11.28 per cent of the voters turning up in the first two hours. The poll percentage picked up and went above 34 per cent in the next two hours and by 12.30 pm, the poll percentage reached 62. By the end of polling at 3.30 pm, an overall poll percentage of 81.67 was recorded.
The highest poll percentage of 85.06 was recorded in Krishna, while Srikakulam reported the lowest percentage of 75.77. Physical distancing was ensured at the polling booths. The voters were screened and provided with hand sanitisers before entering the polling booths.In Nimmada gram panchayat of Srikakulam district, the native place of AP TDP president K Atchannaidu,
TDP supported candidate K Suresh won with a huge margin over his rival YSRC-backed candidate. Election to Nimmada panchayat gained significance as the TDP supporters threatened and tried to prevent the YSRC-backed candidate K Appanna from filing his nomination. Atchannaidu and 21 others were arrested for intimidation. After being released on bail, Atchannaidu cast his vote in the election.
Festive atmosphere prevailed in most of the villages. Reacting on the victory of the party backed candidates in majority of the panchayats, Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said they will put up more impressive performance in the elections to MPTCs and ZPTCs. “The TDP had deceived the people in its five- year rule. The people have given a befitting reply to the TDP by defeating the candidates backed by it,’’ the minister said.
On the other hand, Atchannaidu alleged that the ruling YSRC had misused official machinery in the elections. “I have never seen this kind of elections,’’ he said.Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the large turnout of voters in the first phase of panchayat elections.