Hyderabad, April 10: As the byelections in the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies were conducted in a free and fair manner, the Election Commission of India has decided against holding re-polling in the two segments except in one polling booth in Bellam Mandi in Kadapa town where the EVM failed to function.
Chief electoral officer Bhanwar Lal told reporters here on Monday that ECI has received 139 representations from the Congress, Telugu Desam and others seeking re-poll alleging large-scale rigging by the YSR Congress.
He said Kadapa district election officer and collector Shashi Bhushan Kumar and the seven elections observers appointed by the ECI thoroughly looked into all the complaints by studying the voting pattern on hourly basis, and video and web footage, discussed with party agents and found no prima facie evidence of unfair practices that warranted re-polling.
Counting of votes for both seats will be held at JMJ Junior College from 8 am on May 13. Postal ballots will be counted simultaneously.
Bhanwar Lal said the percentage of polling in the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency was 77.47 percent, up from 71.69 percent in 2009.
In the Pulivendula Assembly constituency it was 82.64 percent, up from 78.47 percent in 2009.
The government decided to pay Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the family of a micro observer, G Phaniraj Pavan Kishore of the ministry of statistics & programme implementation, NSS, Badvel who died of heart attack while on election duty. The Kadapa collector was requested to submit a proposal for sanction of ex gratia, the CEO said.
Police registered nine cases against Congress (5), YSR Congress (4) for poll-related offences and made 248 preventive arrests _ YSR Cong (93), TDP (76), Congress (72) and others (7).
–Agencies