Lok Sabha elections in Telangana: Farmers force paper ballot in Nizamabad

HYDERABAD: As 180 turmeric farmers refused to withdraw their candidature from Nizamabad on the last day of nomination, leaving the total number of contestants in the key constituency to a staggering 185 candidates, a worried Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said they were now left with no choice but use ballot papers after a gap of nine years.
With EVMs not equipped to handle such high numbers, EC officials said hectic work had begun to procure ballot boxes and print ballot papers on time, with even an outside chance of polling getting postponed due to the sheer magnitude of work left.
“We have to prepare ballot papers and arrange ballot boxes. Election Commission of India has to take a decision on postponement of polls. We have written to ECI for arrangements to be made,” Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana Dr Rajat Kumar told TOI. “There is no issue with the availability of symbols and arrangements will be made for agents representing candidates,” said Kumar.
Nizamabad candidate count 3rd highest so far in India
While sitting MP K Kavitha, daughter of CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, is seeking re-election, the 180 aggrieved turmeric farmers from Nizamabad in the fray are contesting to press for a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops in the state of Telangana which accounts for 13% of the country’s share of turmeric.
Nizamabad now has the third highest count of candidates in the country for Lok Sabha polls behind Nalgonda (480) and Belgaum (456) in the 1996 elections.
Last time ballot papers were used in the state was on Aug 27, 2010, for Assembly byelections in Korutla, Sircilla, Yellareddy, Huzurabad and Warangal as the number of candidates stood at 64.
Now, EC officials are trying to get hold of the 1,500 ballot boxes used then. If the ballot boxes with the districts are not usable, they have to manufacture even ballot boxes along with ballot papers. Designing ballot papers, printing, readying strongrooms and training officers may take time, officials said.
“We have two types of machines, ECIL and BEL. In BEL machines, even if there are 383 candidates we can manage. But in ECIL machines, using four ballot units, we can only accommodate 63 candidates. Ballot papers will all be in white. On the ballot, national parties will be on the top, followed by state parties, unrecognised parties will come lower down and then independents,” Rajat Kumar said.
Overall, on the final day of withdrawing nominations, 443 candidates remained in fray for Lok Sabha polls in Telangana after 60 candidates withdrew.