Hyderabad: The much-awaited Jubilee Hills by-election will be held on November 11. With the date out, the campaigning for the seat will get more intense as the ruling Congress government is looking to wrest the seat from the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Counting of votes and the result will be held on November 14.
The date of the by-election was announced by the Election Commission of India on the same day it announced the polling dates of the Bihar Assembly polls. The by-election has been necessitated after the late BRS MLA and leader Maganti Gopinath passed away. In the 2023 state elections, former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and Congress leader unsuccessfully contested the seat fromt he ruling party.
The BRS since Telangana was formed in 2014 became a dominant force in the Greater Hyderabad area and it managed to win most of the seats in Hyderabad, proving its stronghold in the area. The Congress won the election by winning 64 seats, while the BRS won nine constituencies out of 119. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which is now going to support the Congress, retained its 7 seats in Hyderabad.
Some observers believe that the AIMIM this time may be a crucial factor for the Congress to win if it can help sway Muslim voters towards the ruling party and away from the BRS.
With Mohd Azharuddin being nominated as an MLC and out of the race for the Jubilee Hills by-election, all eyes are on the Congress leadership in Telangana to see who be the party’s candidate for the upcoming Jubilee Hills by election. While no one has been announced officially so far, the names of Congress leaders G Ranjith Reddy and Naveen Yadav are currently doing rounds as possible candidates.
The BRS has announced Gopinath’s wife Sunith as its candidate while the BJP is also yet to announce to whom it will be giving the party ticket.
The upcoming Jubilee Hills by election is going to have high stakes for the ruling Congress which is looking to wrest it from the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The bypoll has been necessitated after the late BRS legislator Maganti Gopinath passed away recently. The ruling party here was unable to win any seat in the Greater Hyderabad area in the 2023 state elections and hence winning that will of utmost importance for it.
While the BRS is sitting strong in the Jubilee Hills by election, the party has been currently hit by internal rebellion. K Kavitha, ex-MLC and daughter of BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), was suspended from the party on September 2 for her criticism of BRS leaders (and her cousin) Harish Rao and Santosh. Kavitha a day later on September 3 then resigned from the BRS and her MLC post.
Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao on October 4 appointed a three-member committee of party leaders to gather views for selecting a candidate for the upcoming bypoll to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency. The Committee is composed of former MLA M. Dharma Rao, former MP Pothaganti Ramulu and Komala Anjaneyulu will listen to the views of party leaders to choose the candidate.
Voters can verify their names in the final voter roll with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), through the election commission’s website, or download from the Voter’s helpline app.
For further assistance, voters can contact the Electoral Registration Officer, which is the GHMC Deputy Commissioner of Circle No.19, Yousufguda.
