Congress names controversial leader Naveen Yadav as Jubilee Hills bypoll candidate

Congress leader Naveen Yadav was declared the party candidate for Jubilee Hills bypoll on November 11, despite being booked for distributing fake voter IDs. Naveen has a history of political controversies and earlier unsuccessfully contested from the constituency

Hyderabad: Barely 48 hours after being booked for a poll code violation, controversial Congress leader V Naveen Yadav was officially declared the party’s candidate for the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll, scheduled for November 11. In a statement on Wednesday, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge approved the candidature of Naveen Yadav.

The announcement comes amid a police case registered against Naveen Yadav for allegedly distributing fake voter ID cards at a public event in Hyderabad last week. The case was registered by Madhura Nagar police, on multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, including offences relating to bribery and undue influence during elections.

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Photographs published in local newspapers showed the Congress leader handing out voter IDs to residents, prompting a complaint to the Election Commission by BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao. Based on the complaint, the EC ordered for an investigation and appropriate action against him. Officials said only designated Booth Level Officers were authorised to distribute voter IDs under EC supervision.

Naveen Yadav, a realtor-turned-politician, earlier contested unsuccessfully from Jubilee Hills on an AIMIM ticket in 2014 and as an independent in 2018, before joining the Congress in 2023. He and his father, Chinna Srisailam Yadav, a known rowdy-sheeter, were previously booked in 2021 for threatening then Jubilee Hills MLA, the late Maganti Gopinath.