Tirupati municipal elections see low voter turnout

A policeman assists a senior citizen arriving at a polling station to cast her vote, in Tirupati on Sunday. | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar The elections to the urban local bodies in Tirupati district concluded in a peaceful manner, with the poll percentage reportedly reflecting an urban apathy.At 45.26 per cent, Tirupati registered the lowest poll percentage in the entire district, till about 5 p.m. With half a dozen universities, institutes such as IIT and IISER, and prominent industries, the city is known for its elite, educated and responsible citizen population comprising academicians, retired bureaucrats and technocrats.However, the urban indifference was quite conspicuous in the polls held for the Tirupati Municipal Corporation (TMC), as evident from the abysmal figure. Of the 2,90,492 total voters, only 1,31,476 showed up at the polling stations to cast their vote.The situation was slightly better in the other towns, where the polling percentages were higher — Sullurpeta (63.72%), Venkatagiri (67.04%), Naidupeta (69.99%) and Puttur (75.57%) respectively. Voters arrive at a polling station to cast their vote in Tirupati on Sunday. | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar Overall, the district registered a total voting percentage of 53.65%, with 2,40,052 of the 4,47,461 voters exercising their franchise in the 202 wards across the five urban local bodies.District Collector S. Venkateswar, along with District Revenue Officer G. Narasimhulu, monitored the developments at the various polling stations through webcasting.The Election Expenditure Observer Mahaboob Basha visited several polling stations in Venkatagiri, Sullurpeta and Naidupeta municipalities and instructed the officials to adhere to the guidelines pertaining to monitoring the expenditure. Published - November 01, 2026 07:33 pm IST