Farmers in Kakinada vote late after cyclones as boats and autos help voters

Farmers and farm workers rushed to polling stations at the last minute to cast their ballots in Kakinada district on Thursday. People were busy working in their fields to save their crops from two back-to-back cyclones named Arnab and Murasu. While voting was supposed to end at 5 p.m., anyone standing in the queue before the deadline got to vote. Voting continued as late as 8 p.m. in many places. Tuni mandal saw the last vote cast at 8 p.m. with a final voter turnout of 72.19 per cent as 48,554 people voted. Across the whole Kakinada district, the overall voter turnout reached 68.85 per cent by 8 p.m. Elections took place for 20 ZPTC seats and 395 MPTC seats spread across more than 1,300 polling stations. Kotananduru mandal recorded the highest voter turnout in the district at 77.49 per cent. Officials reported that the entire voting process ended peacefully. Meanwhile, the nearby Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district recorded a voter turnout of 62 per cent. Voters there cast ballots for 19 ZPTC seats and 372 MPTC seats across 1,294 polling stations. Seven MPTC seats were decided unanimously, while 885 candidates competed for the remaining MPTC spots. No bad incidents happened during the day. District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar stated that authorities arranged autorickshaws and boats to help voters reach polling booths because heavy rain kept falling across the district. Vote counting is scheduled to take place on November 7 in Amalapuram, Kothapeta, P. Gannavaram, and Ramachandpuram.

Context

Local elections in rural districts often see high participation even during difficult weather because local bodies control grassroots governance and community resources. District collectors and election officials routinely arrange special transport like boats and autos when heavy rains flood low-lying regions and block roads. Vote counting dates are set shortly after polling closes so results can be announced quickly.