Telangana gram panchayat elections: Polling progresses at slow pace in Asifabad, Adilabad

Polling in the final phase of gram panchayat elections progressed slowly across Asifabad and Adilabad districts on Wednesday, with turnout remaining below 20 per cent till 9 am, as biting cold weather kept voters indoors, officials said.

Adilabad: Polling began at a slow pace across the erstwhile Adilabad district, where elections were underway in 446 villages under the third and final phase on Wednesday.

Officials said Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, where 104 villages across four mandals, Rebbena, Asifabad, Kagaznagar and Tiryani, went to polls in this phase, recorded a polling percentage of 18.95 up to 9 am. In Adilabad district, where polling was held in 120 villages across six mandals, Bazarhathnoor, Boath, Gudihathnoor, Neradigonda, Sonala and Talamadugu, voter turnout stood at 19.37 per cent.

Similarly, Nirmal district, where polling was underway in 124 villages across mandals including Basar, Thanur, Kubheer, Mudhole and Bhainsa, registered a turnout of 26.19 per cent. In Mancherial district, where 98 villages across five mandals, Bheemaram, Chennur, Jaipur, Kotapalli and Mandamarri, went to polls, the turnout was 27.15 per cent. Mandamarri mandal recorded the highest polling at 34.92 per cent.

The sluggish pace of polling was attributed to biting cold weather conditions prevailing in Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Adilabad districts. Minimum temperatures in the two districts hovered around 6 degrees Celsius, forcing people to remain indoors till 9 am. Villagers were seen keeping themselves warm with bonfires and woollen clothing.

A total of 5.18 lakh voters are set to decide the fate of 1,575 candidates contesting for the post of sarpanch across the four districts. As many as 8,044 candidates are in the fray for ward member posts from 3,623 wards in the 446 villages going to polls in this phase.

Over 1,000 villages witnessed polling during the first and second phases of elections held in Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts on December 11 and 14.