Hyderabad, February 12 The counting of votes in the elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana, which will test the popularity of the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP and BRS, will take place on February 13.
On the eve of counting, major parties have shifted their candidates to undisclosed locations to prevent poaching by rivals, sources said.
The counting will begin at 123 centers across the state from 8 AM, the State Election Commission said on Thursday.
The counting process is expected to take time as ballot papers were used in the election.
The SEC said in a statement that adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peace and order. Section 163 of BNSS (prohibitory orders) would be in force around the counting centers.
Only counting supervisors, counting assistants, candidates, and their election and counting agents will be allowed inside the counting hall.
Director General of Police (DGP) B Shivadhar Reddy said comprehensive and foolproof security arrangements have been put in place for the counting of votes.
Nearly 12,000 police personnel, supported by armed forces and Quick Response Teams, have been deployed at the counting centers to maintain law and order, he said.
Webcasting will be made in all the counting centers and outside the strong rooms, the SEC said.
Counting of postal ballots will be taken up first, followed by regular ballot papers.
Over 73 per cent of voters exercised their franchise on February 11 in the election to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal in Delhi on Thursday, told them that Congress would get good results in the urban polls, party sources said here.
BJP leader and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy hoped that the saffron party would get impressive results despite the alleged misuse of power and distribution of money by the Congress.
After its major success in the gram panchayat elections in December last year, the ruling Congress aims to consolidate its position as the dominant player in state politics by scoring emphatic wins in the urban local bodies.
Hoping to emerge as a credible alternative to both the Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which earlier ruled the state for two terms, the BJP conducted a spirited campaign in municipal polls.
Having suffered setbacks in the 2023 assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BRS came up with a decent performance in the gram panchayat polls and is keen to make substantial gains in the municipal elections to reverse its fortunes in the state.
