Telangana Assembly elections 2018: Voting ends; polling went smoothly, say officials

Voting came to a close in Telangana at 5 pm, bringing the curtains down on an elections season that saw the state go to early polls along with four other states. The voter turnout till 3pm was 56.17 percent.

Polling began on a dull note and picked up as the day passed. Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajath Kumar said polling has gone smoothly across the state, including in the 13 Maoist-affected constituencies where it ended at 4 pm.

Of the handful of notable incidents reported during voting hours were an attack on a Congress candidate in Mahbubnagar District and the hospitalisation of a Bahujan Left Front (BLF) candidate in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District. The BLF candidate for Alair constituency, Mothkupalli Narasimlu was taken to the hospital after falling ill even as polling was underway.

Telangana CEO Rajat Kumar has said he has directed police to register in connection with the reported attack on Vamshichand Reddy, the Congress candidate for the Kalwakurthy constituency. The alleged attackers are yet to be identified.

The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is fighting to return to power, and has contested in all 119 seats. It's major challenge is from the 'Mahakutami' (Grand Alliance) consisting of the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and the Communist Party of India (CPI). Other key players are the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), with its strong influence in regions in and around Hyderabad with high concentrations of Muslims, and the BJP, which won five assembly seats in the 2014 elections, when it was allied with the TDP.