Hyderabad, Nov 14 (NationPress) The ruling Congress in Telangana appears poised to reclaim the Jubilee Hills Assembly seat from Bharat Rashtra Samithi as it has solidified its lead during the counting of votes from the recent by-election.

After six rounds of counting out of ten, Congress candidate Naveen Yadav has expanded his lead to more than 19,000 votes over his closest competitor, Maganti Sunitha of BRS.

From the first round onward, the Congress candidate has consistently maintained his lead throughout the counting process.

Lankala Deepak Reddy of the BJP, who is far behind in third place, expressed his disappointment as he departed from the counting center.

Celebrations erupted within the Congress camp, where party workers were seen lighting firecrackers and sharing sweets at their headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan.

The vote counting is taking place under strict security at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Stadium in Yousufguda.

Election officials have set up 42 counting tables, expecting the entire process to conclude over ten rounds.

District Election Officer R. V. Karnan noted that each round of counting is anticipated to take around 40 minutes, with results expected by 2 p.m.

In Tuesday's by-election, voter turnout was at 48.49 percent, with a total of 194,631 votes cast. Officials reported that 99,771 men, 94,855 women, and five others participated, alongside 101 postal ballots.

The constituency has a total of 401,365 voters, which includes 208,561 males, 192,779 females, and 25 others.

A total of 58 candidates contested in this by-election, necessitated by the passing of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of BRS.

The BRS nominated Gopinath's spouse, Sunitha, to compete against Congress’s Naveen Yadav, while the BJP once more fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy.

According to exit polls by various agencies, Congress is projected to gain the seat from BRS, with estimates suggesting Congress will garner 46-48 percent of the votes, while BRS is expected to receive 41-42 percent. The BJP is projected to finish a distant third with only 6-8 percent.

In the previous election of 2023, Gopinath of BRS achieved a notable victory over his nearest rival, Mohammed Azharuddin of Congress, by a margin of 16,337 votes.

During that election, the BRS candidate received 80,549 votes, while Azharuddin secured 64,212 votes. BJP’s Deepak Reddy finished in third place with 25,866 votes, and AIMIM’s Farazuddin was fourth with only 7,848 votes.

This time, AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has extended support to the Congress candidate.