Voting began on a dull note at 7 a.m. in Hyderabad and ended at 5 p.m. on an equally dull note with the excitement of polling limited to first time voters. “I went to vote at 4 p.m. There was hardly anyone in queue. The number of people in the polling stations usually goes up in the evening. But this time that did not happen. I could go in, vote and step out in three minutes,” said Mohammed Safwan, a businessman, who voted near the Mallepally Masjid.
However, there was excitement at the polling station for some time as some voter’s slips had the kite symbol of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and political agents of other parties objected leading to arguments. The Polling Station comes under the Nampally Assembly Constituency which saw under 42.6% voting percentage.
A family which managed to reach Charminar around 12 noon after travelling from a city hotel in Nampally had to make do with selfies and photographs near Laad Bazaar as police restricted movement near Charminar. The usually crowded bangles market remained closed.
