Hyderabad, Oct 12 (IANS) The notification for the by-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Hyderabad will be issued on Monday.

This will initiate the process for filing nominations.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), October 21 is the last date for filing nominations. The scrutiny of nominations will be held on October 22, and withdrawal of candidature will be allowed until October 24.

The counting of votes will take place on November 14, and the election process will be completed by November 16.

Meanwhile, the ECI has appointed Sanjiv Kumar Lal, IRS (2014 batch), as the Expenditure Observer for the Jubilee Hills by-election.

The Expenditure Observer will oversee and monitor the Election Expenditure Monitoring process, ensuring strict compliance with ECI guidelines to maintain transparency and curb the influence of money power in the electoral process.

The election authorities are strictly enforcing the Model Code of Conduct in the constituency. They have so far removed 2,176 political posters, wall writings and banners. These were removed from 1,431 government properties and 745 from private premises.

Authorities have made it clear that any violations of the MCC will invite strict action, reaffirming their commitment to uphold transparency and accountability during the election process.

The by-election is being conducted under the new electoral reforms introduced by the ECI, which are being rolled out for the first time during the Bihar Assembly elections and the by-elections to eight Assembly constituencies across the country.

According to Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C. Sudharshan Reddy, the reforms are aimed at enhancing voter convenience, transparency, and efficiency in the conduct of elections.

The key measures include capping the number of voters per polling station at 1,200, to reduce overcrowding and improve voter experience, affixing color photographs of contesting candidates on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and ballot units, to help voters easily identify their preferred candidates, deployment of additional women polling personnel to encourage greater participation of women voters and enhanced accessibility measures for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, including ramps, wheelchairs, and pick-up/drop-off facilities.

According to the recently published final electoral roll, the constituency has 3,99,000 voters – 2,07,382 males, 1,91,593 females and 25 third-gender voters.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, the constituency had 3,85,287. Thus, there has been an increase of 3.49 per cent in votes.

Polling for the by-election will be held across 407 polling stations in 139 locations within the constituency.

The by-election is necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of BRS in June.

In the 2023 elections, Gopinath scored a hat-trick by defeating former Indian cricket captain and Congress candidate Mohammed Azharuddin by 16,337 votes.

In a multi-cornered contest, Gopinath had secured 80,549 votes while Azharuddin had polled 64,212 votes.

BJP’s L. Deepak Reddy was in third position with 25,866 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), headed by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, had also fielded its candidate, but he finished poor fourth with just 7,848 votes.

BRS has announced Gopinath’s wife, Maganti Sunitha, as its candidate.

The Congress party has named Naveen Yadav as its candidate. The BJP is likely to announce its candidate in a couple of days.

–IANS

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