Hyderabad: Tensions prevailed in the Yousufguda division of Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency on Tuesday, November 11, as supporters of Congress candidate for the by election, Naveen Yadav, raised slogans taunting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) candidate Maganti Sunitha.
Sunitha had been protesting in the Yousufguda division, alleging rigging by Congress and votes being cast in the name of deceased people.
Videos have surfaced showing Congress supporters surrounding the BRS leader as she is escorted away by the police. The crowd is seen raising their shoes while chanting slogans in support of Naveen Yadav.
On the other hand, Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy was also arrested en route to Yousufguda. BRS has condemned his arrest and alleged that Congress has resorted to the misuse of power.
“Today, upon receiving information that Congress leaders were engaging in large-scale rigging at the polling centers in the Yousufguda area, while en route there, the police undemocratically arresting MLA Kaushik Reddy is a highly condemnable act,” stated a post on Kaushik Reddy’s X.
Earlier in the day, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee had accused Kaushik Reddy and other BRS leaders of threatening voters at polling booths.
Jubilee Hills by-election
The Jubilee Hills by-election concluded at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 11, with a voter turnout of 48.47 per cent as recorded till 5:00 pm.
A little over four lakh voters stood eligible to exercise their franchise in the byelection, which was necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
A total of 58 candidates are in the fray, but the main contest is between the ruling Congress party and the opposition BRS and BJP.
The BRS has fielded Gopinath’s wife, Sunitha, while Naveen Yadav has entered the fray on a Congress ticket. The BJP has once again fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy.
