Voters turn up in large numbers in AP amid talk of a silent wave

Visakhapatnam: Tremendous enthusiasm marked voting in Andhra Pradesh as simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly were conducted, by and large peacefully on Monday barring stray incidents of scuffle and allegations of frequent defects in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and missing names in the voters’ list.

Intense fighting till the end was witnessed among the contenders fielded by the ruling YSR Congress Party, the three-party alliance comprising TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Party. The Congress put up a spirited fight to revive its lost base. In both rural and urban areas the voters turned up in large numbers from early hours and waited for their turn by standing in serpentine queues to exercise their franchise. The enthusiasm to spare long hours to vote mainly by first time voters, youth and women is attributed by many as a sign of a silent wave.

The contenders levelled allegations against each other on misuse of power and intimidating voters. At Tenali, local MLA Siva Kumar was objected by a voter when he tried to jump the queue to cast his franchise. The incident led to a scuffle among two groups. The MLA was accused of slapping a voter in front of full media glare. BJP in a post on X, objected to the behaviour of YSRCP law-maker.

The voting percentage which was 9.21 per cent at 9 am swelled slowly to 40 per cent by 1 pm. Voting was allowed till 6 pm and wherever there was still demand, the time was extended as per a directive of the Central Election Commission. In the Maoist-hit areas and agency belt, polling was restricted to 5 pm. The turnout was more than 60 per cent by 3 pm in Chittoor, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram and other parliamentary constituencies. The State-wide percentage was 55.49 per cent by 3 pm.

Due to rain, polling was disrupted for some time in Paderu and Araku (ST reserved) constituencies. At several places, voting began late and got frequently disrupted due to malfunctioning of EVMs, which were replaced promptly by the polling officials. Voters also vented out their anger over not finding their names in the voters’ list. “I have not changed my address and have been voting regularly from a school near my house in Visakhapatnam. But when I went there with my voter ID card, to my surprise, I was told by the officials that my name is not mentioned in the list obtained by them,” Mayank Kumari Dev, who belongs to Jeypore royal family, told Bizz Buzz.