The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) bagged 86 of the 103 MPTC seats, declared till 1 p.m., in the counting for the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) elections on Sunday. The Telugu Desam Party bagged 11 seats, and the BJP, the Congress and the CPI-M won one seat each, while independent candidates bagged 3 seats. Elections were held for 612 MPTC seats in the district.
Earlier, the counting of votes began on a peaceful note in the district at 8 a.m. on Sunday. The keys of the strongroom at Paderu went missing, forcing the officials to break open the lock, and rainwater seeped into the ballot boxes at a few places in the district.
District Collector A. Mallikarjuna and Election Observer K. Imtiaz visited some of the counting centres at Pendurthy in the morning. The Collector said the counting was peaceful and the guidelines of the State Election Commission (SEC) and COVID-19 protocols were being followed at the counting centres. He said that the results were expected by 7 p.m.
When his attention was drawn to the reports on delays in the counting process in the Agency areas, the Collector admitted there was a 15 to 20 minute delay and there was no cause for concern. He said there were no major issues anywhere in the district as 144 Section was imposed around the counting centres and no processions, including victory rallies, were allowed.
