LS poll: Over 76 per cent voters exercise their franchise in Seemandhra

Updates: 8:00 pm: Voter turnout of 76.01 per cent recorded for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra, according to Election Commission.

7:00 pm: Over 71 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in Seemandhra. The highest turnout of 74 per cent was recorded in Guntur district, while the lowest polling percentage of 67 per cent in Visakhapatam district, official sources said.

4:50 pm: 63 pc voting in Seemandhra has been recorded till 4 pm.

3:43 pm: 54.05 per cent polling recorded till 3 pm in 25 constituencies of Seemandhra.

2:29 pm: Union Minister Pallam Raju sounded confident of his victory. He says, "This is my sixth Lok Sabha polls. I am certain and hopeful that people will re-elect me."

1:43 pm: Over 51 per cent voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm.

11:49 am: 33 per cent voting recorded till 11 am. The highest was in Kurnool at 41 per cent and lowest in Vizag at 28 per cent.

11:31 am: Supporters of TDP and YSR Congress clashed in Kadapa. The police brought the situation under control.

In Chittoor district, a few media vehicles were attacked by irked supporters of YSRC party. A cameraman was injured.

10:55 am: 15 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am. The highest was in Chittoor district at 21 per cent and the lowest in East Godavari at 10.5 per cent.

9:44 am: TDP and YSR Congress workers clashed in Jammalamadugu Assembly constituency.

8:17 am: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy says, "The YSR Congress will sweep the elections. Wait for May 16. Alliance options are open because state needs development."

7:40 am: YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy casts his vote in Kadapa.

7:30 am: Long queues seen outside booths.

Hyderabad: Polling for 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and 175 Legislative Assembly seats in Seemandhra began on Thursday morning to decide the fate of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy among others.

As many as 3.68 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 40,709 polling stations spread across the 13 districts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema (together known as Seemandhra), according to state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Bhanwar Lal.

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Union Ministers V Kishore Chandra Deo, MM Pallam Raju, Panabaka Lakshmi and former minister D Purandeswari are some of the prominent candidates in the fray.

The elections are a do-or-die battle for main contenders TDP and YSRCP with Congress believed to be at the receiving end of the public anger over "unilateral" division of Andhra Pradesh.

There are 333 contesting candidates for Parliamentary constituencies and 2,241 nominees for Assembly segments.

Among the 175 Assembly constituencies, polling would take place from 7 am to 6 pm in 165 seats. But in eight Naxal-hit segments, polling would be held from 7 am to 5 pm and in two others from 7 am to 4 pm.

Noting that elaborate security arrangements have been made for polling, the CEO has said 272 companies of Central Police Force have been deployed. This is in addition to the 95,158 state police force.

Over Rs 137 crore unaccounted cash has been seized so far in undivided Andhra Pradesh during enforcement of poll code.

Polling concluded in Telangana region on April 30.

(With additional information from PTI)