1.76 lakh employees cast votes in Telangana

Hyderabad, May 9: Nearly 1.76 lakh employees on poll duty in Telangana have cast their votes in Lok Sabha polls at Voter Facilitation Centres (VFCs), officials said on Thursday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj said on Thursday that the process of voting by postal ballot has almost completed for most categories who are eligible to vote by postal ballots except service personnel.

A total of 2,64,043 employees on poll duty have applied for postal ballot/Election Duty Certificate (EDC).

While 2,29,072 employees opted for postal ballots, 34,973 employees opted for EDC.

The process of casting their vote through postal ballot is at an advanced stage, the CEO said.

A total of 1,75,994 employees cast their votes in the VFCs till May 8. VFCs will continue to function till May 10.

The CEO said 15,970 postal ballots have been electrically transmitted to the service voters through the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBMS). Out of these, 170 polled EPBS have been received by the Returning Officers by May 8.

In the absentee voters’ category, a total of 23,247 applications were received. Out of this, 21,651 persons have cast their votes through home voting or at postal voting centres up to May 8.

The process of home voting has been completed in all parliamentary constituencies.

The process of voting at Postal Voting Centres (PVCs) was completed on Thursday.

The CEO revealed that 324 certifications have been given for political advertisements through the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC). A total of 8,481 FIRs have been filed for the violation of the Model Code of Conduct while Rs.301.03 core worth of cash and inducement articles were seized.

Polling in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state is scheduled on May 13.