Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanvarlal has stated that 77 percent of voting was registered by the end of polling in Seemandhra region on 7 May. He added that the voter turnout may touch 80 percent once he receive the complete polling details of all 13 districts in the region.

The voter turnout was on the rise in Seemandhra compared to the 2009 general election, Bhanvarlal said. Most of the districts in the region registered an increase in voter turnout, the CEO said.

The State DGP Prasada Rao said that except some sporadic incidents of violence during the polling, the voting process went on peacefully throughout Seemandhra. In Visakhapatnam's Palakajeedi area, Maoist extremists attacked a polling booth and torched two electronic voting machines (EVMs) and a police jeep, and re-polling has been ordered in this booth, he added.  

In the post-poll scenario, both Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) are claiming to form the next government by winning majority seats in Seemandhra. YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy declared that he is open to support any party or any alliance of parties at the Centre to form the next government.

He claimed that YSRCP will play a key role in the formation of next government at the Centre. On the other hand, TDP is claiming to win at least 100 seats in the 175 Assembly constituencies and 15 seats in the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies of Seemandhra.

The TDP-BJP combination, with the support of maverick actor and Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan, covered the whole Seemandhra with its whirlwind campaigning. He drew large crowds to all rallies in both Seemandhra.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu and BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi stressed the need of development for the drought prone areas in Seemandhra. 

Media reports said that Naidu called Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday soon after the polling and expressed his gratitude for his support during campaigning. It is also said that Naidu has invited Pawan for lunch on Thursday.

Naidu, who toured all over Andhra Pradesh extensively and canvassed tirelessly, is said to be going abroad on a holiday trip along with his family members.  

(Ed:AJ)