Voters wait in a queue to exercise their franchise at a polling booth in Peda Jalaripeta, in the East Assembly Constituency during the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation elections in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: V RAJU Barring a few alleged irregularities and violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) election elections passed off peacefully on Sunday.The city registered a voter turnout of 51.47%, according to preliminary figures released by the election authorities at 9:30 p.m. The final polling percentage is yet to be released.The turnout this time was considerably lower than the 59.41% recorded in the previous GVMC elections held in 2021.Of the 18.37 lakh registered voters across the city, 9,45,915 exercised their franchise.

They included 4.55 lakh men and 4.90 lakh are women. Nearly 8.91 lakh voters stayed away from casting their votes, according to the preliminary report.Ward No.

105 in Aganampudi recorded the lowest turnout of 28%, while Ward No. 5 in the Bheemunipatnam Zone registered the highest at 74.69%.Among the zones, Bheemunipatnam topped the list with a turnout of 65.90%, followed by Anakapalli at 65.54%.

Gajuwaka, which has the highest voter population of around 2.98 lakh, recorded a turnout of 54.10%, while Aganampudi registered 53.46%.The South Zone, which includes One Town recorded a turnout of 51.24%, followed by the West Zone with Gopalapatnam, Simhachalam, and Malkapuram registering 51.21%, and Madhurawada with 50.81%.The East Zone registered 50.55%, while Pendurthi recorded 48.93%. The North Zone, which includes prominent residential localities such as Seethammadhara and Balayya Sastry Layout, witnessed the lowest turnout among these zones at 44.24%.Slow start, gradual risePolling began on a sluggish note, particularly in the densely populated urban areas.

The first two hours, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., witnessed a turnout of barely 3% across the 10 zones. The pace gradually picked up as the day progressed, but the overall turnout remained below expectations.By 1 p.m., with four hours of polling remaining, the turnout had not crossed the 30% mark.

Even by 3 p.m., just two hours before the scheduled closure of polling, it stood at around 39%.Despite the slow start, voters turned up at polling stations throughout the day, with several booths witnessing enthusiastic participation. The polling arrangements were largely smooth, and the queues were managed without major disruptions.

Relatively longer queues were seen at a few polling stations in Jalaripeta and China Waltair, while most other booths witnessed moderate queues. Nearly 5,000 police were deployed for the polls.Political leaders exercise franchise NDA Mayor candidate Mukka Sravani shows her inked finger at Akkayyapalem in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT TDP mayoral candidate Mukka Sravani cast her vote along with her parents at a polling station in Akkayyapalem.

Her YSRCP counterpart, Varudu Kalyani, exercised her franchise at the AU High School polling station in the East Assembly constituency. YSRCP Mayor candidate V.

Kalyani exercised her franchise at AU High School in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: V RAJU AP TDP president Palla Srinivasa Rao cast his vote at AU High School in Gajuwaka, where former IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath also exercised his franchise. Bheemunipatnam MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao voted at a polling station in MVP Colony, while BJP MLA P.

Vishnu Kumar Raju cast his vote at a polling station near Gurudwara Junction. BJP State president P.V.N.

Madhav exercised his franchise near China Waltair. Visakhapatnam MP M.

Sribharat, accompanied by his wife Tejaswini, daughter of actor-turned-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna, casts their vote at a polling booth in Ram Nagar during the GVMC elections in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: V RAJU District Collector M. Abhishikth Kishore, GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg and Commissioner of Police Shankabrata Bagchi visited various polling stations and reviewed the arrangements from time to time.

Published - November 02, 2026 12:09 am IST