Telangana Gears Up for Lok Sabha Elections with Over 3.17 Crore Voters

Telangana is getting ready for the Lok Sabha elections happening on May 13. There are 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state where people will cast their votes. Additionally, there will be voting for the by-election of the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.

A whopping 3,17,17,389 voters are eligible to vote in Telangana. Among them, 1,58,71,493 are men, 1,58,43,339 are women, and 2,557 identify as third gender. To make it easier for some voters, around 20,163 will be able to vote from home. Over 1.88 lakh employees who are on poll duty will vote through postal ballots.

To accommodate voters, 35,809 polling stations have been set up across the state. About 2.94 lakh people, including security personnel, will be working on the election day. There are 525 candidates contesting in the elections, representing different parties.

Secunderabad has the highest number of candidates, with 45 people running for office. There are also many candidates in other constituencies like Medak, Chevella, Peddapalle (SC), and Warangal (SC).

Polling will happen from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., except in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), where it will end at 4 p.m. Due to the heat wave, polling hours have been extended by one hour in non-LWE areas.

To ensure everything goes smoothly, the Election Commission has deployed 160 companies of central forces. They have also appointed three engineers for each Assembly segment to fix any problems with the voting machines quickly.

In terms of security, Telangana will have 72,000 personnel from the state and 20,000 from neighboring states. Additionally, 4,000 personnel from other uniformed services will be deployed.

Strict rules have been set in place to maintain fairness. Over 8,600 cases have been filed for violations of the Model Code of Conduct, and authorities have seized items worth Rs. 320.84 crores.

After the campaign ends, there will be a ban on sending election-related bulk SMSs for 48 hours. This measure aims to ensure a fair and unbiased voting process.