Andhra records 69% voter turnout

Sporadic incidents of violence reported from various districts of the state, mainly Palnadu

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BY 5 pm on Monday, 68.04% voters in Andhra Pradesh exercised their franchise. Polling was marred by quite a few incidents of violence in parts of Palnadu, Annamayya and other districts of the state. The final voter turnout will be announced on Tuesday.

Serpentine queues were witnessed across several parts of the state as people began making a beeline at polling stations from morning itself. Polling continued till 10 pm in several booths, said Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena.

Pointing out that there were sporadic incidents of violence across the state, particularly in Palnadu district, he said normalcy was restored at these booths as soon as possible so that people could continue to cast their votes.

He added that re-polling has not been necessitated anywhere. Meena asserted that the polling percentage is likely to cross the previous mark of 79%. He explained that by 9 am, 9.21% voter turnout was registered and it continued to see a double-digit raise every two hours.