HYDERABAD: The Election Commission on Tuesday indefinitely postponed the counting of votes polled in the Local Authorities Constituencies (LACs) during the Legislative Council election on March 17 and ordered an inquiry into the "open voting" allegedly indulged in by some Congress leaders.

The probe will be conducted by the Chief Electoral Officers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

With this, the results of LACs will not be available on the scheduled date of March 23. However, the counting of votes pertaining to graduates and teachers constituencies will be taken up and results announced on March 25 without any change.

Sources said the Commission's action followed a complaint by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that many Congress leaders had resorted to "open voting" amounting to breach of secrecy, to show their party leadership that they indeed had cast their vote to the official candidates.

However, School Education Minister N. Rajyalakshmi whose alleged "display" of casting her vote was widely reported, denied the charge.

The TDP lodged its complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer on the polling day itself.

The March 17 polling closed amidst complaints that some Congress leaders also took their assistants to the polling booths along with them. The TDP cited this as another electoral offence.

Delay likely

The inquiry is likely to delay the formation of the Legislative Council, which was expected by March 26 as per the earlier schedule. Arrangements in fact are in place to elect 31 members from the Assembly on Thursday towards this end.

The Council will have 90 members -- 31 from LACs (out of whom five were elected unopposed and elections were not held for three in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district), 31 from Assembly and eight each from graduates and teachers constituencies.

Twelve members will have to be nominated from different fields.

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