Has Congress Taken An Early Lead in Jubilee Hills Byelection?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Congress is leading in the Jubilee Hills byelection.
- Naveen Yadav has a significant advantage over Maganti Sunitha.
- Counting is taking place under tight security.
- 48.49 percent voter turnout was recorded.
- 58 candidates are in the contest.
Hyderabad, Nov 14 (NationPress) The ruling Congress party in Telangana has taken a significant early lead during the ongoing counting process in the byelection for the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency in Hyderabad on Friday.
After the initial two rounds of counting, Naveen Yadav from Congress held a lead of approximately 3,000 votes over his closest competitor, Maganti Sunitha from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
By the end of the second round, Naveen Yadav had garnered 17,874 votes compared to Sunitha's 14,879 votes. Lankala Deepak Reddy from the BJP was trailing significantly in third place with only 3,475 votes.
Initially, Congress had secured a narrow lead of just 47 votes in the first round, which expanded to 2,995 votes in the second round.
The vote counting is taking place under stringent security measures at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Stadium in Yousufguda.
Election officials have set up 42 tables for counting, and the entire process is expected to conclude in 10 rounds.
District Election Officer R.V. Karnan mentioned that each counting round is anticipated to last approximately 40 minutes, with results expected by 2 p.m.
The byelection, held on November 11, witnessed a polling turnout of 48.49 percent, totaling 1,94,631 votes cast. Among these, 99,771 men, 94,855 women, and five others participated, alongside 101 postal ballots.
The constituency has a total of 4,01,365 voters, comprising 2,08,561 males, 1,92,779 females, and 25 others.
There are 58 candidates contesting in this by-election, triggered by the passing of the sitting MLA, Maganti Gopinath of BRS.
The BRS has nominated Gopinath’s spouse, Sunitha, who is in a direct contest with Congress’s Naveen Yadav. The BJP has once again put forward Lankala Deepak Reddy.
Exit polls from various prominent agencies indicate that Congress is poised to reclaim the seat from BRS, with projections suggesting that Congress may secure between 46-48 percent of the votes, while BRS is estimated to receive 41-42 percent. The BJP is expected to finish far behind with only 6-8 percent.
In 2023, Gopinath of BRS achieved a notable victory against his nearest opponent, Mohammed Azharuddin from Congress, by a margin of 16,337 votes.
The BRS candidate received 80,549 votes, while Azharuddin managed 64,212 votes. The BJP’s Deepak Reddy came in third with 25,866 votes, and AIMIM's Farazuddin was fourth with only 7,848 votes.
This time, the AIMIM, under the leadership of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, has expressed support for the Congress candidate.