Telangana Election 2023: Clash erupts between BRS and Congress workers in Rangareddy district

Telangana Election: A clash between workers of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress broke out in Rangareddy district amid the ongoing elections in Telangana. Police personnel arrived on the spot and there were no reports of any injuries to anyone. Before this, a scuffle broke out between Congress, BJP and BRS workers at a polling station in Jangaon, news agency PTI reported.

As per news reports, BRS workers stopped state Congress president-party candidate Revanth Reddy's brother Kondal Reddy from visiting the polling booth in Kamareddy, claiming that he is not a voter here and is not authorised to visit.

Telangana, the youngest state of India, is seeing a close fight between the Congress (INC), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (BRS).

Around 2,290 contestants are fighting the polls. A few prominent candidates this year are Chief Minister KCR, his son K T Rama Rao, Congress president A Revanth Reddy, and BJP's Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind.

BRS has fielded 119 candidates in 119 seats. As per the seat sharing agreement between the two parties, BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan-headed Jana Sena are contesting in 111 and 8 seats respectively, while Congress has given one seat to its ally CPI, and fighting from 118 others.

Meanwhile, Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments.

Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm in 106 constituencies. In 13 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas in the state, the polling started at 7 am and will continue 4 pm.

According to the Election Commission, the state recorded 20.64 per cent polling till 11 am, up from 8.52 per cent till 9 am.

Key districts' voter turnout at 11 am

Kamareddy: 24.70%

Siddipet: 28.08%

Hyderabad: 12.39%

Rajanna Sircilla: 22.02%

Karimnagar: 20.09%

The votes will be counted on December 3.

Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, his sister and MLC Kavitha, and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi were among leaders who exercised their franchise in the initial hours of polling. Several film personalities, like Rana Daggubati, Jr NTR, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh and Allu Arjun also cast their ballot. Most stars requested people to vote to elect their choice of government.

Chiranjeevi urged people of the state to vote after he made his way inside his car after casting his vote during the Telangana assembly 2023 elections. "Everybody should cast their votes! That is it," he said.

Allu Arjun, after casting his vote, said: "I request each and everyone of you to come and cast your vote responsibly." He also took to X to share a picture of himself, and wrote, “Please. Cast your vote responsibly.”

Oscar-winning music director MM Keeravani was also seen at a polling booth in Hyderabad.

Keeravani said: "Everyone should utilise their voting power. This is not a holiday. Voting is our responsibility. Everyone should exercise that right. I came first and voted to inspire everyone and I am happy to vote."

 

Also read: Telangana election 2023: Allu Arjun, Jr NTR, former cricketer Azharuddin and more cast votes

Also read: 'BJP in Rajasthan, Congress to gain in MP, Telangana, C'garh': Harsh Goenka's 'satta bazar' post on assembly results goes viral