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A total of 36.68 per cent of voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in Telangana, which is currently undergoing polls for its 119 assembly seats, according to the Election Commission of India.
According to the poll commission, Adilabad recorded a voter turnout of 41.88 per cent, Bhadradri at 39.29 per cent, Hanumankonda at 35.29 per cent and Jagtial at 46.14 per cent. Kamareddy recorded 40.78 per cent of voter turnout while Khammam recorded 42.93 per cent. A voter turnout in Mahabubabad was recorded at 46.89 per cent, Medak at 50.80, Mulugu at 45.69 per cent and Siddipet at 44.35 per cent till 11. Long queues were seen outside the polling stations in towns and rural parts of Telangana since early this morning as the polling for the State Assembly at 7 am. Till 11 am, the state recorded an overall turnout of 20.64 per cent. This time, there are as many as 2,290 contestants in the fray which includes Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, his Minister-son K.T. Rama Rao, State Congress President A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind. In 2018, BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 of the 119 seats and had 47.4 per cent of the vote share. The Congress came a distant second with just 19 seats. Several big leaders including Chief Minister KCR, state minister KT Rama Rao, YSR Telangana Party president YS Sharmila, BJP's Arvind Dharmapuri and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy exercised their franchise and urged voters to cast a vote. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya also cast his vote in Hyderabad and said, "I have always voted since 1983. Voting is very important to further strengthen our democracy." AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also urged voters to exercise their franchise to "strengthen" democracy and further "restore" faith in the Constitution during the ongoing Telangana Assembly polls. Speaking to ANI after casting his vote in Hyderabad, Owaisi said, "I urge the people of Telangana to exercise their franchise to strengthen democracy....". (ANI)
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