Jubilee Hills bypoll: 58 candidates in fray; Rs 2.84 crore in cash, 512 litres of liquor seized

Hyderabad: The high-profile Jubilee Hills Assembly Constituency bypoll is heading for a crowded contest, with 58 candidates officially remaining in the fray after the withdrawal of nominations.

Hyderabad District Election Officer RV Karnan released the final electoral rolls and detailed election preparedness as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended Friday.

4.01 lakh voters in the constituency

The final list includes 4,01,365 registered voters, comprising 2,08,561 men and 1,92,779 women. Since the notification of the bye-election, the constituency has seen an increase of 2,383 new voters, officials said.

Vigil stepped up; cash and liquor were seized

Enforcement agencies have intensified surveillance to ensure a fair electoral process.

So far, officials have seized Rs 2.84 crore in unaccounted cash and 512 litres of liquor worth Rs 3.69 lakh during checks. The District Election Officer said teams would continue strict monitoring until polling day.

Bypoll necessitated by Gopinath’s death

The byelection was necessitated following the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year. The BRS has now fielded his wife, Maganti Sunitha, as its candidate in a bid to retain the family's hold over the constituency.

Major parties field key candidates

The byelection has drawn intense political interest, with major parties fielding prominent candidates for the prestigious urban seat.

The Congress has nominated Naveen Yadav, while the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is contesting with Maganti Sunitha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy.

Campaigning has picked up pace across the constituency, with senior leaders of all major parties holding rallies and door-to-door meetings as the poll date approaches.

Total number of candidates decreases drastically in a day

As many as 211 candidates had filed their nominations for the by-election. Nominations of 130 candidates were rejected while the papers of 81 candidates were found in order by the Election Commission of India for the Jubilee Hills bye-election. However, the final number of candidates has now been reduced to 58.

One of the reasons behind this is the speculation that the major political parties, such as the BJP, BRS and Congress, have reached out to the Independents and asked them to withdraw.

Arrangements for smooth polling

With an unprecedented number of contestants, each polling booth will have four ballot units and one VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machine to facilitate smooth voting. Election staff are being trained and logistics finalised to ensure the process runs without technical glitches.