Hyderabad, March 14: Polling in the elections to the State Legislative Council from three Graduates and three Teachers constituencies in the state passed off peacefully yesterday.
Chief electoral officer Bhanwar Lal said that polling began on a dull note and picked up momentum in the afternoon. Counting of votes would take place on March 15 at the district headquarters, he said. An average of 46.53 percent of votes were cast in the three Graduates constituencies and 77 percent in the Teachers constituencies.
As many as 44 candidates are in fray in the three Graduates constituencies and 27 in the three Teachers constituencies.
The three Graduates constituencies are: Srikakulam- Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam (47.23 pc voting, 19 candidates) , Kadapa-Anantapur- Kurnool (39.60 pc voting, 11 candidates) and Prakasam- Nellore-Chittoor (52.77 pc voting, 14 candidates).
The Teachers constituencies are: Mahaboobnagar- Ranga Reddy-Hyderabad (78.88 pc voting, 11 candidates), Kadapa-Anantapur- Kurnool (84.76 pc voting, nine candidates) and Prakasam- Nellore-Chittoor.(67.37 pc voting, seven candidates).
Police made elaborate security arrangements at all the 1,631 polling stations including 474 sensitive, 112 supersensitive, 113 hypersensitive and 36 extremist-affected stations. Law and order was not a problem as the election was apolitical.
-Agencies