3,925 Candidates In Fray For 175 Member AP Assembly

Amaravati: A total of 548 candidates filed their nominations for 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh while 3,925 candidates were in fray for the elections to the 175-member Assembly.

With 38 nominations, Nandyal Lok Sabha constituency tops the list while only 13 filed their papers for Chittoor (SC) constituency.

Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi told reporters on Tuesday that Nandyal Assembly constituency witnessed filing of 61 nominations while Mantralayam saw only 13 nominations.

The scrutiny of nomination papers was undertaken on Tuesday. March 28 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.

Meanwhile, in a setback to the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the nomination of its candidate from Kurupam (ST) constituency in Vizianagaram district was rejected.

Janardhan Thatraj's nomination was rejected by the Returning Officer after the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress complained that he submitted a false caste certificate. They submitted the copies of court orders declaring that he does not belong to the Scheduled Tribes.

As his mother Narasimha Priya Thatraj had also filed her nomination, she is likely to contest as the TDP's official candidate.

Over 3.93 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in simultaneous elections for Assembly and Lok Sabha scheduled on April 11. The voters include nearly 4,000 in the category of third gender.

The CEO said 25.54 lakh voters were added after January 11 this year while 1.41 lakh voters were deleted. In the final electoral rolls, the number of voters in the age of 18-19 years is nearly 16 lakh.

The authorities in the state have so far seized Rs 55 crore cash, liquor worth Rs 12 crore and gold and silver valued Rs 30 crore. (IANS)

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