4.01 lakh voters to decide electoral fate of 58 candidates in Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll

Hyderabad, Nov 10 (PTI) Electoral fortunes of 58 candidates will be sealed on Tuesday with 4.01 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise in the high-stakes bypoll for the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency here.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner R V Karnan, who is the District Election Officer, said all arrangements have been made for smooth conduct of polling in compliance with the Election Commission's guidelines.

The polling will be held from 7 AM to 6 PM on November 11 and the votes will be counted on November 14.

As many as 4.01 lakh voters, including 2.08 lakh men and 1.92 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the election.

Although 58 candidates are in the fray, the contest is triangular among the ruling Congress, BJP and BRS.

According to Karnan, 226 polling stations have been identified as "critical" out of the total 407 polling stations.

About 1,800 police force, besides central security force personnel would be deployed for the polling.

"For the first time, drone surveillance is being deployed at all polling locations, for centralised aerial monitoring and real-time situation analysis," an officilal release said.

The Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City is deploying "striking forces" to ensure adequate security at all the polling stations and mobile squads to monitor the law and order. CRPF is deployed in 68 polling station locations.

Web-casting is arranged at all polling stations for real-time monitoring, it said.

Transportation of EVMs using GPS fitted vehicles will be continuously monitored from the Control Room. Any faulty polling equipment would be replaced with functional reserve equipment, as per ECI guidelines, it said.

The campaigning for the by-election, which mirrored a general election, came to an end on Sunday.

The bypoll is necessitated due to the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year.

The BJP has fielded L Deepak Reddy, while Gopinath's widow Sunita is the BRS candidate. The ruling Congress candidate is Naveen Yadav, who enjoys the support of Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM.

The bypoll has assumed significance with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy leading an intense campaign in the constituency for several days, unprecedented for a CM in a by-election.

Not only the chief minister, but the ruling Congress deployed all ministers for the campaign.

Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union MoS (Home) Bandi Sanjay Kumar and senior BRS leaders, including K T Rama Rao, have also canvassed in the constituency in support of their party candidates almost daily, undertaking 'padayatras', road shows and street corner meetings.

Much is at stake for the three major parties as they battle it out in the triangular contest.

Though the bypoll result would have no bearing on the stability of the Congress government, the outcome would be seen as a referendum on CM Revanth Reddy's performance.

A loss would make the government vulnerable to attacks from the aggressive BRS and the ambitious BJP.

The by-election is a do-or-die battle for BRS as it drew a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, preceded by its shock defeat in the 2023 assembly polls.

Moreover, Jubilee Hills was held by BRS until its MLA Maganti Gopinath died and the failure to retain it would push the regional party to the margins in state politics.

The BJP is keen to score a win as it aims to emerge as an alternative to Congress in the 2028 assembly elections.

The Congress is banking on the recent induction of cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin into the Council of Ministers which is expected to have a positive impact on the Muslim voters.

The AIMIM'S support is expected to boost the ruling party's chances.

Muslims, with an estimated population of one lakh in the constituency, would play a decisive role in the outcome of the bypoll.

The administration has imposed a ban on liquor sales in the polling areas from 6 PM on November 9 to 6 PM on the polling day. On the counting day, the order will be enforced from 6 AM on November 14 till the completion of counting of votes, officials said.

The election authorities conducted campaign in educational institutions and other areas to address voter apathy and spread awareness that "Every Vote Counts." Special emphasis was placed on bridging the gap in the 18–19 years age group, encouraging all first-time voters to participate, the release added. PTI SJR VVK SJR KH