Jubilee Hills by-poll counting begins, candidates visit shrines ahead of counting

Jubilee Hills bypoll counting has begun

Hyderabad: The counting process for the Jubilee Hills by-election started amid tight security at Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium in Yousufguda. Fifty-eight candidates are in the fray.

The first round will involve postal ballots, which polled 103 votes. Polling officials have arranged pigeon boxes with party symbols at the stadium.

---

Subsequently, EVMs stored in strongrooms will be shifted to counting tables in the presence of the general election observer of the Election Commission of India and party agents. A total of 42 tables set up for the exercise and counting will be done in 10 rounds.

“Each round will take 30 to 45 minutes,” a poll duty official told Telangana Today. The first counting will be held for the Shaikpet division, and the last counting is for the Erragadda division votes, he said.

In anticipation of the results, candidates visited shrines to seek blessings. BRS candidate Maganti Sunitha and her family offered special pooja at Sri Subramanya Swamy temple in Madhapur, while Congress candidate V Naveen Yadav and his wife visited Sri Balkampet Renuka Yellamma temple and Jubilee Hills Sri Peddamma temple.

The GHMC commissioner and district election officer, R V Karnan, has deputed 186 counting staff, and the returning officer of the Jubilee Hills constituency, P Sairam, is monitoring the process.

Meanwhile, party supporters and leaders arrived en-masse at the counting centre, gathering outside the main entrance of the stadium. LED screens have been installed inside the venue to display round-wise results.