Excitement prevailed over the outcome among political circles in Ongole, as the Election authorities are conducting mock polling in 12 polling booths of Ongole assembly constituency on Monday. This may be the first time that a candidate sought mock polling and the elections authorities exercising this option, in the state.
Former minister and senior YCP leader Balineni Srinivas Reddy, who contested from YCP in the recent elections, expressed doubts about the election results. As a sitting MLA he was defeated by TDP candidate Damacharla Janardhan with an overwhelming majority of 34,060 votes.
Balineni, who was confident of his winning in the election, was shocked that he failed to get a majority even in polling booths where he is confident of having strength and sure to get a majority. So, he approached the Election Commission expressing doubts over counting of votes and applied for recounting.
The Election Commission responded positively to his request. Officials have made arrangements to conduct mock polling in 12 polling centers in Ongole. The authorities are preparing to conduct mock polling in EVMs of 12 polling centers in Ongole Legislative Assembly constituency.
26 candidates contested from the Ongole Assembly seat in the 2024 general elections. The main contest prevailed between TDP and YCP candidates. The majority secured by the TDP candidate is said to be unprecedented in the history of Ongole constituency, as till now in elections any candidate secured such an highest majority.
So, Balineni is suspicious over the results, particularly about such a big majority for the TDP candidate. So, he opted for seeking
mock polling of EVMs in twelve polling centers. As part of this, he paid Rs.5.44 lakh cash to the Election Commission towards expenses.
Collector Tamim Ansaria has already received training in Hyderabad on the steps to be taken. Authorities are making arrangements to this extent. So, everyone is excited over the results of this mock polling, as for the first time such an exercise is being undertaken.
District election authorities made suitable arrangements to conduct mock polling. They also invited representatives of Bell Company to manage this process. Based upon the outcome of this mock polling, in some other constituencies also defeated candidates may prefer to approach the Election Commission for similar exercise.