Overview

• Voting runs 10 am to 5 pm in Parliament’s Vasudha Hall, with counting from 6 pm and results expected the same evening.
• The electoral college’s current strength is 781 MPs, setting the majority mark at 391 under the single transferable vote system.
• Estimates place NDA backing in the low-to-mid 420s, boosted by YSRCP, while BJD and BRS have announced abstentions; AIMIM backs Reddy.
• Both blocs held mock polls to minimize invalid ballots in the secret vote, and MPs were briefed on marking a single ‘1’ preference correctly.
• Campaign messaging sharpened on election eve, with the opposition casting the race as ideological and BJP leaders criticizing Reddy’s 2011 Salwa Judum judgment.