Jubilee Hills by-poll: All set for voting on Nov 11; 58 candidates in fray, 4L voters to exercise franchise

Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has completed all arrangements to ensure a smooth, peaceful, free, and fair polling in the Jubilee Hills Assembly byelection on November 11.

The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Over 4 lakh voters on electoral rolls

According to Hyderabad District Election Officer (DEO) RV Karnan, a total of 4,01,365 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in this urban constituency. Of these, 2,08,561 are male, 1,92,779 are female, and 25 are others.

The constituency also has 6,859 first-time voters in the 18–19 age group, and 2,134 senior citizens above 85 years. The DEO said 103 absentee voters, including persons with disabilities (PwD) and elderly voters, have opted for postal ballots, 101 of whom have already cast their votes.

407 polling stations, 2,060 staff on duty

Polling will be conducted across 407 polling stations housed in 139 buildings, with an average of 986 voters per station.

To manage the electoral process, the ECI has deployed 2,060 polling personnel, including 515 presiding officers and an equal number of assistant presiding officers.

Live webcasting will be arranged at every polling station for real-time monitoring, while mobile deposit counters will be provided at all locations to allow voters to safely store their mobile phones before entering the polling booths.

EVMs and VVPATs ready

Given the unusually high number of 58 contesting candidates, each polling station will be equipped with one Control Unit (CU), four Ballot Units (BUs), and one VVPAT machine.

In total, 561 CUs, 2,394 BUs, and 595 VVPATs have been arranged for the constituency. To ensure smooth functioning, 40 engineers and technicians from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) will remain on standby to address any technical issues during polling hours.

Tight security and vigilance

To maintain law and order, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner has mobilized a striking force, mobile teams, and static security personnel at all polling stations.

A district-level intelligence committee has also been constituted, comprising officials from police, excise, income tax, narcotics, GST, transport, postal, aviation, commercial tax departments, and the Lead District Manager (LDM) of banks.

These teams will work in coordination to prevent any electoral malpractices and ensure strict adherence to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

19 nodal officers and 38 sector officers appointed

The Election Commission has designated 19 nodal officers to oversee various election-related functions such as logistics, training, EVM management, and polling material distribution. Additionally, 38 sector officers have been tasked with ground-level supervision and immediate reporting of any violations or disturbances.

MCC violations and cash seizures

Since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct on October 6, officials have registered 27 cases of violations. Enforcement squads have seized Rs 3.60 crore in unaccounted cash suspected to be meant for voter inducement between October 6 and November 8.

Paid Holiday Declaration

The District Collectors of Hyderabad and Medchal–Malkajgiri have declared November 10 (pre-poll day), November 11 (polling day), and November 14 (counting day) as paid holidays for all institutions and offices housing polling stations and counting centres.

Counting on November 14

The polling will take place on Tuesday (November 11) from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and counting of votes will be conducted on Thursday (November 14) under tight security and continuous surveillance.