Hyderabad: In view of the prevailing heatwave conditions in Telangana, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday announced that the polling time for the Lok Sabha elections in the state will be extended by an hour, which will be held on May 13. After the Election Commission’s instruction, the voting in Telangana will commence from 7 am and will end at 6 pm in the evening. Earlier, the timing for the voting was 7 am to 5 pm.

People in Telangana will cast their vote for all the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state on May 13. The polling in the state is scheduled to take place in the fourth phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission has also issued a notification regarding the new directions, wherein it has been mentioned that the extended time for voting will be applicable in all assembly segments of the 12 Lok Sabha constituencies, while in the remaining five parliamentary seats, the timing will apply in certain assembly segments.

As per the notification, the hours of polling will be 7 am to 6 pm in the Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool (SC), Nalgonda and the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat.

The new timing will also be applicable in five assembly segments of the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, three of Peddapalle seat, six of Warangal (SC) seat, three of Mahabubabad (ST) seat and five of the Khammam Lok Sabha seat, the Election Commission said in its notification.

It is being said that the decision, to change the timing of polling, was taken following a request from the Telangana chief electoral officer in view of representations received from various political parties and contesting candidates on the prevailing situation of heatwave in the state and its effect on voter turnout.