Telangana polls: Fate of BRS, Congress, BJP to be unsealed tomorrow after vote counting

Amidst various exit polls suggesting a potential advantage for the Congress over the ruling BRS in Telangana, the counting of votes cast in the November 30 Assembly elections is scheduled to commence at 8 AM on Sunday.

The outcome will reveal whether the voters favored a third term for Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's regime or if the "six guarantees" presented by the Congress or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' had a significant impact, or if a fragmented verdict awaits, all by tomorrow evening.

A total of 2,290 contestants are in contention, including BRS leader Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy, and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind, and Soyam Bapu Rao.

BRS has candidates in all 119 seats, while the BJP and Janasena contested in 111 and 8 seats respectively through a pre-poll pact. The Congress allotted one seat to its ally CPI. The AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, fielded candidates in nine city segments.

Several segments witnessed triangular contests, adding to the anticipation.

KCR contested from two segments - Gajwel and Kamareddy - as did Revanth Reddy from Kodangal and Kamareddy. BJP's MLA Etala Rajender contested from Gajwel and Huzurabad, where he is the incumbent legislator.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed numerous meetings and a roadshow in Hyderabad during the campaign period, while KCR spoke at 96 rallies.

The BRS campaign centered on highlighting the failures of the previous Congress regime and ongoing welfare measures. Rao emphasized his struggle for achieving Telangana statehood.

The Congress focused on exposing alleged corruption within the BRS government, advocating its "six guarantees," and calling for a "change" in regime.

The BJP's campaign emphasized the need for a "double engine government," criticized the "family rule" of KCR, highlighted alleged corruption, and promised to appoint a Backward Caste leader as the CM.

The voter turnout was recorded at 71.34% of the eligible 3.26 crore electors in the November 30 elections, which transpired peacefully, with only a few minor incidents.

The Munugode Assembly constituency recorded the highest turnout at 91.89%, while Yakutpura segment recorded the lowest at 39.64%, according to the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer's office.

Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj stated that the counting would begin with postal ballots at 8 am, followed by the counting of votes in EVMs starting at 8.30 am.

Counting centers will have 14 counting tables, except for six constituencies with more than 500 polling stations, where 28 counting tables will be used. Security measures include three cordons with central security forces and state armed police force at each counting center.

All EVMs have been sealed, and 40 companies of CAPF are deployed to guard the EVM strongrooms. CCTV cameras have been installed in the strongrooms to ensure security.

Most exit polls predict an advantage for the Congress in Telangana.

(With input from PTI)