The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), affiliated to the Congress, was ahead in the trade union elections in state-run Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) as the counting of votes was underway on Wednesday night.
The INTUC took early lead by winning four divisions while All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), affiliated to the Communist Party of India (CPI), was a close second with three divisions.
Counting of votes was on in four other divisions.
The INTUC emerged victorious in Yellandu, Kothagudem, Manugur and Ramagundam-3 divisions, while the AITUC bagged Bellampally, Ramagundam-1, and Ramagundam-2.
The Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS), affiliated to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which had won the elections in 2012 and 2017, was yet to open its account.
Earlier in the day, polling was held in all 11 divisions from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Officials said 94.15 per cent voters cast their votes.
A total of 39,773 workers working in 23 underground, 19 opencast mines, GM offices, and Departments in Peddapalli, Kothagudem, Jayashankar-Bhupalpally, Khammam, Mulugu, Mancherial and Asifabad districts besides Hyderabad (corporate office) are eligible to cast their votes.
A total of 13 trade unions were in the fray.
Ballot papers were used for the polling held at 84 polling booths in all 11 divisions. The SCCL coal mines are spread over 11 Assembly constituencies in erstwhile Adilabad, Khammam, Warangal and Karimnagar districts. In the recent Assembly elections, the Congress had won nine seats while its ally CPI had bagged Kothagudem.
The BRS, which lost power to the Congress, secured only one seat (Asifabad).
The Singareni trade union elections were originally scheduled on October 28 but postponed to December 27 after the then BRS government moved the High Court seeking postponement in view of Assembly elections. Though Congress too wanted the trade union elections to be postponed till the Lok Sabha polls next year, the High Court last week declined to postpone the elections.
The Singareni trade union elections were last held in 2017. The TBGKS, headed by BRS President and then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kavitha won the polls by bagging nine out of 11 coal mine divisions.