Jubilee Hills bypoll draws massive nominations, poses EVM challenge
HYDERABAD: The upcoming Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll has gained political significance, with major parties viewing its outcome as a barometer for future elections. Several groups, including land acquisition victims, job aspirants, and communities seeking Scheduled Caste reservations, have decided to contest as independents to highlight their grievances.
By Wednesday, 30 candidates had filed nominations, while more than 120 others had collected forms. Nominations will be accepted until October 21. Officials say it is too early to estimate the final number of contestants.
High number of independents
Dissatisfied with the government, several social groups and unemployed youth see the bypoll as an opportunity to voice their concerns. Among them are those affected by land acquisition for projects such as Pharma City, Regional Ring Road(RRR), and Lagcherla, as well as aspirants for Group-I services.
Administrative challenges
Officials face logistical hurdles due to the surge in nominations. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) can accommodate only 16 candidates per unit, including the “None of the Above” (NOTA) option. With M3 model EVMs, up to 24 ballot units can be linked to a control unit, allowing for a maximum of 383 candidates including NOTA.
If the number of candidates exceeds this limit, polling will have to be conducted using traditional ballot papers.
Authorities had initially prepared for a limited number of candidates, based on past elections, expecting not more than two ballot units per polling station. If nominations continue to rise, they will need to procure additional EVMs and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) systems.
A similar situation occurred in 1996 when more than 470 independents contested from Nalgonda parliamentary constituency. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Nizamabad witnessed 185 candidates in the fray.
