Hyderabad Jubilee Hills By-Election: All Set for Counting at Yousufguda Stadium
The stage is set for the crucial counting of votes polled in the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election in Hyderabad. Tight security has been deployed at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Stadium in Yousufguda, where counting begins at 8 a.m. on Friday.
Counting in 10 Rounds
Election officials have arranged 42 counting tables, and the entire process will be completed in 10 rounds.
According to Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy, the constituency recorded a 48.49% voter turnout, with 1,94,631 votes cast.
Voter breakup:
- Men: 99,771
- Women: 94,855
- Others: 5
- Postal ballots: 101
The Jubilee Hills constituency has a total of 4,01,365 registered voters.
Among the 103 absentee voters (senior citizens above 85 years and Persons with Disabilities), 101 cast their votes via postal ballot.
58 Candidates in the Fray
A total of 58 candidates contested the by-election, which was necessitated by the demise of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
The BRS fielded Gopinath’s wife Sunitha, who is engaged in a direct contest with Congress nominee Naveen Yadav. The BJP repeated its 2023 candidate Lankala Deepak Reddy.
Exit Polls Predict Congress Win
Exit polls by multiple agencies project a Congress victory, estimating:
- Congress: 46%–48% votes
- BRS: 41%–42% votes
- BJP: 6%–8% votes
TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud and several ministers expressed confidence that Congress would win by a margin of 30,000 to 50,000 votes.
BRS leaders, however, maintained that they would retain the seat, alleging large-scale irregularities by the ruling party.
State BJP president N. Ramchander Rao also claimed that the BJP would emerge victorious.
Previous Election Snapshot
In the 2023 Assembly elections, BRS candidate Gopinath secured a hat-trick by defeating Congress' Mohammed Azharuddin by 16,337 votes.
Vote tally (2023):
- BRS: 80,549
- Congress: 64,212
- BJP: 25,866
- AIMIM: 7,848
In the current by-election, the AIMIM, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, extended support to the Congress candidate.
