Hyderabad: Till 1 pm, a 31.94 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypoll for Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Polling began at 7 a.m. at all 407 polling stations in the constituency which covers posh Jubilee Hills and several middle-class and weaker section colonies and slums in the heart of the city.
Four lakh voters eligible for Jubilee Hills bypoll
A little over four lakh voters are 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.
Sunitha was among the first voters to cast her vote at Yellareddyguda Srinagar colony. She appealed to all voters to exercise their franchise.
Congress and BJP candidates also cast their votes. They appealed to all voters to cast their votes.
Voters continue to turn up in large numbers
Voters continue to turn up in large numbers and special arrangements are in place to help senior citizens and Divyangjans exercise their franchise smoothly.
District Election Officer R.V. Karnan visited a polling centre at Borabanda to observe the polling process.
Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy said the polling process would continue till 6 p.m. and the voters standing in queues at polling centres at 6 p.m. would be allowed to cast their votes.
The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth, free and fair polling.
With inputs from agencies
