Jubilee Hills bypoll: Counting of votes on Nov 14

Hyderabad, Nov 13 (PTI) Counting of votes in the by-election to Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Telangana, seen as crucial for the ruling Congress and also BRS, would be held on November 14.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner R V Karnan, who is the District Election Officer, told reporters on Thursday that the counting would begin at 8 am.

Postal ballots would be taken up first, followed by counting in 10 rounds.

He said 48.49 per cent votes were cast on November 11 when the polling was held. The total number of eligible voters was 4.01 lakh, while 1.94 lakh voters exercised their franchise.

Elaborate arrangements, including security, have been made for the counting process.

The bypoll is necessitated by 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.

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

The election outcome is crucial as the ruling Congress is steadfast in its goal to further strengthen its electoral hold.

The main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is looking to retain the seat and make a bounce back after its rout in the 2023 Lok Sabha polls, preceded by its shock defeat in the 2023 assembly polls.

The BJP was keen on emerging as an alternative to the BRS and Congress. PTI SJR SJR ROH