The polling for the Tirupati by-election began at 7 a.m. today and it would continue till 7 p.m. Special measures were taken to prevent the spread of Covid virus. The infected voters would be allowed to vote at the polling stations after 6 p.m. Moreover, the number of voters per polling station has also been reduced to 1,000 from the earlier 1,500.There are over 17.11 lakh voters in the Tirupati parliamentary segment right now.
The overall constituency is spread over four assembly constituencies in the Nellore district and three assembly segments in the Chittoor district.The main political parties, the YCP and the TDP, have continued their mutual allegations even on the polling day. The TDP complained to the election commission that the ruling party Ministers are still camping in the Tirupati segment even after the campaigning came to an end.
Whereas, the police authorities have made the TDP leaders to leave Tirupati immediately after the closure of the campaign.The fate of YCP nominee Dr. Gurumurthy will be decided in this election. He is contesting in a direct election for the first time and solely dependent on the Chief Minister’s blessings and the Ministers’ support.
Whereas, TDP nominee Panabaka Lakshmi is a long time politician and former Union Minister with considerable experience.BJP nominee Ratna Prabha is a former IAS officer and retired Chief Secretary of Karnataka. Congress nominee Chinta Mohan has represented Tirupati in the past for many times.Following the demands from the Opposition, over 23 companies of Central forces and three companies of special teams were brought to ensure a free and fair poll today.
