KAKINADA: Elections for the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) held on Tuesday concluded on a peaceful note barring a few incidents of scuffle among workers of the contesting parties at a couple of places in the city.
At 196 polling stations, 1,48,598 people cast their votes, that is 64.78 percent of the total voters of 2,29,373 of the 48 wards for which election was held.
As many as 241 candidates had contested, of which 48 belong to YSRC, 39 to TDP and nine to BJP. Due to early morning showers, polling commenced on a slow note and picked up steadily. At a couple of polling stations, due to power interruption, there was a slight delay in commencement of polling.
Both the ruling TDP and Opposition YSRC are considering the KMC elections as a prestige issue. The poll is crucial because it comes a day after the TDP’s victory in the Nandyal Assembly by-election which the YSRC camp hoped would be an encouraging pointer to the next general election.
Also, the Godavari districts, in which Kakinada is the biggest city, is the home turf of Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham. TDP’s chances in this Kapu heartland will be crucial in this election.Polling, which was just 7 percent in the first 90 minutes, steadily picked up and by 4 p.m. About 61.5 percent of votes were polled.
Thereafter, several of the polling stations wore a deserted look and at exactly 5 p.m. election ended in all the polling stations and there were almost no voters in the queues.
In the previous election for KMC held in 2005, the polling percentage recorded was 67 percent and this time round it was two percent less, that is near 65 percent. In the first few hours, elderly and women voted in large numbers.
Activists of contesting parties BJP, TDP and YSRC argued and slugged it out at three places —Kotha Kakinada, Etimoga and Vidyuth Nagar. BJP and YSRC activists entered into a heated argument and almost came to blows at the polling centre in New Life High School In Kotha Kakinada (Ninth ward). BJP leaders claimed that YSRC workers were distributing cash to influence voters.
At the polling centre located in Ideal College, Vidyuth Nagar, followers of independent candidate and TDP workers clashed. TDP workers claimed the other party was distributing money. Police intervened and dispersed the crowds.
It was at Etimoga polling centre in 14th ward, that tension prevailed till the end of polling with TDP and YSRC activists scuffling a few times.
However, no one were injured.District SP Vishal Gunni, DIG Eluru Range PVS Ramakrishna visited all the hypersensitive and sensitive polling centres, particularly those where incidents of clashes were reported.Meanwhile, Congress district president P Nanaji lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission that NOTA option was missing from EVMs.