Jubilee Hills bypoll campaign ends, voting on November 11
HYDERABAD: The campaign for the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll concluded on Saturday evening, with polling scheduled for November 11. The Election Commission ordered all non-locals to leave the constituency after 6pm and directed that wine shops and pubs in the area remain closed. Voting will be held from 7am to 6pm.
4.01 lakh voters in the fray
District election officer R V Karnan told reporters that there are 4,01,365 voters in the Jubilee Hills constituency. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be shifted from Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Stadium to polling stations on Sunday night. Each polling station will have four ballot units. Authorities have set up 407 polling booths across 139 locations, with three-tier security in place. A total of 45 flying squads and 45 static surveillance teams are working in the constituency, along with 2,060 polling staff.
Paramilitary forces deployed
“Altogether, 561 control units, 595 VVPATs and 2,394 ballot units are ready. Webcasting will be live-streamed from all polling stations. Help desks will be available, and NCC volunteers will help manage voter queues. Mobile deposit counters will be set up at polling stations,” said Karnan.
Paramilitary forces will be deployed and drones will be used for monitoring. “We’ve discussed with the Reserve Bank of India about tracking digital payments through PhonePe and Google Pay to prevent cash transfers to voters. Wine shops will remain closed till November 11 evening. Voters should come forward and exercise their franchise,” Karnan added.
226 critical polling stations
Joint Commissioner of Police Tafseer Iqbal said 226 polling stations across 65 locations have been identified as critical and will be guarded by paramilitary forces. “Police security will be in place at all polling stations. So far, 27 election code violation cases have been registered and ₹3.6 crore in cash has been seized. Flag marches have been conducted, and no law and order issues have been reported. A total of 230 rowdy-sheeters have been bound over. Around 1,761 local police personnel and eight Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) companies will be deployed,” he said.
High-stakes contest
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. Major parties Congress, BRS and BJP have campaigned aggressively. Political analysts say the outcome could serve as a referendum on public sentiment towards the ruling Congress government or a revival test for the BRS.
Chief minister Revanth Reddy led the campaign for six days in three phases, covering the entire constituency. Ministers were assigned division-wise campaign responsibilities, while MLAs and party leaders went door-to-door, reflecting how seriously Congress views the bypoll.
