Telangana Elections: 2,327 nominations filed across 119 seats; Medchal, Gajwel have maximum independent candidates
Medchal followed by Gajwel have the highest number of independent candidates contesting with 51 and 50 candidates respectively
By Sulogna Mehta Published on 12 Nov 2023 8:15 AM GMT
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Hyderabad: A total of 2,327 candidates have filed nominations till the last day i.e. November 10 from all 119 constituencies in the state of Telangana.
The Election Commission (EC) issued a gazette notification on November 3 for the filing of nominations for the general elections to the Telangana State Legislative Assembly 2023, which are slated to be held on November 30.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is contesting from all 119 constituencies while Congress is contesting from 118 constituencies and left one seat for its ally CPI. BJP is contesting 111 seats and left eight seats for its ally Jana Sena Party. MIM is contesting nine seats and is backing BRS for the remaining seats.
Independent candidates
According to the consolidated list of nominations filed till the afternoon of November 10, which was released by the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), almost all the constituencies had independent candidates filing nominations.
The votes secured by independent candidates would be a crucial factor in determining the fate of candidates from major political parties in many constituencies where there is close contest among them.
Medchal followed by Gajwel have the highest number of independent candidates contesting with 51 and 50 candidates respectively. Interestingly, chief minister and BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao as well as BJP leader Eatala Rajender are contesting from the Gajwel constituency, which has the highest number of nominations (68) filed by different parties.
In Kamareddy, another constituency from where KCR is contesting apart from Telangana Pradesh Congress (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy, has 18 independent candidates and a total of 37 nominations filed.
Too many independent candidates from one constituency is indicative of a strong anti-incumbency factor for the sitting MLA of that constituency.
Some of the other constituencies, which have fielded several independent candidates, include Munugode (22), Karimnagar (19), Huzuranagar, Suryapet and Yellandu (18 each), Jangaon (17), Parkal, Kodad and Siddipet (15 each), Husnabad (14), Nampally and Peddapalle (13 each), Zahirabad and Kothagudem (12), Ramagundam and Manthini (11 each) among others.
Smallest to largest
The smallest constituency of Bhadrachalam with 1.46 lakh voters does not have any independent candidate among its five contestants who had filed nominations while the other smallest constituency Charminar (in terms of area) has seven independent candidates. The biggest constituency by the size of the electorate is Serilingamapally (6.94 lakh voters). From here there are nine independent candidates while Mulugu, the biggest constituency in terms of area, has seven independent candidates.
Lesser known parties who filed nominations
Apart from the BRS, Congress, BJP and independent candidates, nominations have been filed by candidates from not-so-well-known parties for Telangana. For instance, in Kothagudem, Warangal East and Khairatabad constituencies, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded candidates.
Interestingly, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded candidates from most constituencies. Some of the not-so-common political parties, who have candidates contesting in Telangana Assembly Elections include Bahujana Left Party, Samajwadi Party, Pyramid Party of India, All India Forward Bloc, All-India Majli-e-Inquilab Millat, Indian Believer’s Party, Socialist Unity Centre of India – Communist, Telangana Praja Jeevana Rhythu Party, India Praja Bandhu Party, Desh Janhit Party, Dharma Samaj Party, Shramajeevi Party, Alliance of Democratic Reforms Party, Social Justice Party of India, Telangana Rashtra Punahnirmana Samithi, Republican Party of India, Vidhyarthula Rajakiya Party, Gondwana Ganatantra Party, Marxist Communist Party of India - United among others.
Important dates related to nominations & polling
After the completion of the filing of nominations between November 3 and 10, the ECI announced November 13 (Monday) as the date for scrutiny of nominations, November 15 (Wednesday) as the last date for the withdrawal of candidature, November 30 (Thursday) as the date on which the poll will be taken, December 5 (Tuesday) as the date before which the election shall be completed.
