Jubilee Hills by-poll: 211 candidates file nominations; farmers affected by RRR project too in fray

Hyderabad: A record 211 candidates have filed their nominations for the November 11 by-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency, officials said.

The last day of filing, Tuesday (Oct 21), saw an unprecedented rush with 117 candidates submitting papers, many of them farmers, residents, and unemployed youth entering the fray to protest various government policies.

Unprecedented rush on last day

According to Returning Officer P. Sairam, a total of 194 nomination papers were filed on the final day. Despite the official deadline of 3 p.m., those waiting in the queue were allowed to submit papers, extending the process until midnight.

Since the notification was issued on October 13, a total of 321 nominations have been filed by 211 candidates, with only 94 candidates filing in the first six days.

Protest candidates take the stage

Many of the late entrants included farmers affected by the Regional Ring Road (RRR) project, residents whose homes were allegedly demolished by HYDRAA, and unemployed youth. These candidates have joined the electoral battle primarily to register their protest against the government over various issues.

A similar situation occurred in 2019 in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, when 185 turmeric farmers filed nominations to push for the Turmeric Board.

EVMs can handle the surge

Election Commission officials confirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can accommodate up to 300 candidates, eliminating the need for ballot papers despite the unusually high number of nominations.

The scrutiny of nominations is scheduled for Wednesday, and Friday is the last day for withdrawal, after which the final list of valid candidates will be announced.

Key contenders in the fray

Among the high-profile candidates, BJP’s Lankala Deepak Reddy filed his nomination on the last day, while Congress’ Naveen Yadav and BRS’ Maganti Sunitha had already submitted their papers earlier.

The by-election is necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath (BRS) in June. In the 2023 elections, Gopinath had defeated former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin (Congress) by 16,337 votes, securing 80,549 votes to Azharuddin’s 64,212. Deepak Reddy of the BJP had come third with 25,866 votes.

Sympathy factor at play

BRS has fielded Maganti Sunitha, Gopinath’s wife, to leverage the sympathy vote. BJP has once again backed Deepak Reddy, while Congress has entered Naveen Yadav into the contest. AIMIM, which had finished fourth in 2023, is not contesting this time and has announced support for the Congress candidate.