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Hyderabad, October 22 (IANS) 211 candidates have filed their nominations for the by-election to be held on November 11 for the Jubilee Hills assembly seat here. Election officials gave this information on Wednesday.
On Tuesday (21 October), the last day of filing nominations, 117 candidates filed their nominations. According to Returning Officer P. Sairam, on the seventh and last day, 117 candidates filed 194 nomination papers.
In an unprecedented development, candidates filed their nominations till midnight. A large number of candidates filed nominations, including farmers affected by the Regional Ring Road (RRR) project, residents whose houses were allegedly demolished by Hydra, farmers and unemployed youth.
These groups came into the field to register their protest against the government on various issues.
Although the deadline for filing nominations ended at 3 pm, those standing in the queue were allowed to submit their papers. After the deadline, the process of filing nominations continued for nine hours.
The returning officer said 211 candidates have filed 321 nominations since the notification was issued on October 13.
While only 94 candidates filed their nominations in the first six days, 117 candidates turned up to file their nominations on the last day.
A similar situation was seen in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 when 185 candidates, most of whom were turmeric farmers, filed nominations. Farmers were emphasizing on the demand of Turmeric Board. This had forced the Election Commission of India to use ballot paper.
However, Election Commission officials said that despite more than 200 candidates filing nominations in Jubilee Hills, there is no need for ballot paper. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can handle up to 300 candidates.
The nominations will be scrutinized on Wednesday, while Friday is the last day for withdrawal of candidature. The final number of valid nominations will be known after scrutiny.
BJP candidate Lankala Deepak Reddy was also among those who filed nominations on the last day. Congress party’s Naveen Yadav and Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) candidate Maganti Sunita had already filed their nominations.
The by-election has become necessary after the death of sitting BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June. In the 2023 elections, he won the seat for the third consecutive time by defeating former Indian cricket captain and Congress candidate Mohammad Azharuddin by 16,337 votes.
In the multi-cornered contest, Gopinath got 80,549 votes, while Azharuddin got 64,212 votes. BJP’s Deepak Reddy stood third with 25,866 votes.
BRS has fielded Gopinath’s wife in an apparent move to cash in on the sympathy factor. BJP has once again given ticket to Deepak Reddy, while Naveen Yadav has fielded on Congress ticket.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), whose candidate had finished fourth in the 2023 elections, is not contesting the elections this time. The party led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has announced its support to the Congress candidate.
–IANS
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