Hyderabad, Oct 15 (IANS) Twelve more candidates filed their nominations on Wednesday for the November 11 by-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Hyderabad.

According to Returning Officer P. Sairam, 12 candidates, including nine independents, filed their nominations.

With this, the number of nominations filed during the last three days has gone up to 33.

Those who filed their nomination papers on Wednesday included Maganti Sunitha of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Praveen Kumar Arrolla of Praja Velugu Party and Buddaiah Amboju of Alliance of Democratic Reforms Party.

The process for the by-election was set in motion with the Returning Officer issuing the notification on Monday.

Sunitha is the first key contestant to file the nomination. She is the wife of Maganti Gopinath, whose death in June necessitated the by-election.

Gopinath, who scored a hat-trick of victories from Jubilee Hills in 2023, died of cardiac arrest on June 8.

In a move to cash in on the perceived sympathy among the electorate, the BRS fielded Sunitha in the by-election.

Accompanied by BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao and other senior leaders of the party, she submitted two sets of nomination papers to Returning Officer P. Sairam at

Shaikpet MRO office.

In the 2023 polls, Gopinath had defeated former Indian cricket captain and Congress candidate Mohammed Azharuddin by 16,337 votes.

This time, Congress has named Naveen Yadav as its candidate while the BJP has decided to once again field Lankala Deepak Reddy, who had finished third in the previous election.

Naveen Yadav is likely to file his nomination on Thursday.

October 21 is the last day for filing nominations. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on October 22, and withdrawal of candidature will be allowed until October 24.

The polling will be held on November 11, while the counting of votes will be taken up on November 14.

Meanwhile, as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative, the election authorities installed digital traffic display boards at major junctions in Panjagutta and Khairatabad, displaying the poll date.

These vibrant displays serve as constant reminders for citizens to exercise their right to vote, participate actively, and strengthen the spirit of democracy through informed and responsible voting, said Hyderabad District Election Officer R. V. Karnan.

–IANS

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