Jubilee Hills Bypoll Results To Shape Hyderabad Political Narrative

The Jubilee Hills Assembly by-poll - counting for which begins Friday morning, alongside counting for the Bihar election - is widely seen a test of strength for the Congress, an attempt by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to revive its fortunes, and the Bharatiya Janata Party looking to establish itself in Telangana.

Counting will begin at 8 am at the Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad's Yousuguda neighbourhood. The process will begin with the counting of 101 postal ballots before votes from EVMs, or electronic voting machines, are picked up. District Election Officer, RV Kannan, also Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner said all the arrangements had been made.

Forty-two counting tables have been set up at the stadium, with special permission from the Election Commission, and results will be compiled over a maximum of 10 rounds.

Over 1.94 lakh votes were cast on November 11. Voter turnout was 48.49 per cent.

There are a total of 59 candidates in the contest.

The entire process will be monitored by General Observers and Election Commission-appointed teams, with live updates also provided on the EC app for complete transparency.

Tafseer Iqbal, the Joint Commissioner of Police, confirmed that elaborate security measures, including deployment of special teams from all divisions and the enforcement of Section 144 - which prohibits the gathering of 20 or more persons - around the stadium.

The electoral race is primarily a triangular battle between the Congress, the BRS, and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress has fielded Naveen Yadav, who is backed by Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, and the BJP has put up Lankala Deepak Reddy.

The BRS has nominated Maganti Sunitha, whose husband, Maganthi Gopinath, was the sitting MLA. He held the seat from 2014, first winning it for the Telugu Desam Party and then the BRS.

Gopinath died in June and that led to this by-poll.

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A win for the Congress will be interpreted as the people re-affirming their faith in the party, and boost efforts to gain a foothold in the posh urban locality, a traditionally weak spot. It could also provide crucial momentum ahead of the upcoming civic and local body elections.

Reddy told NDTV earlier the Jubilee Hills by-poll is a litmus test for his government.

The Chief Minister said he is confident of a win by 7,000 to 15,000 votes.

But a defeat will be a significant blow to his urban strategy and embolden critics within the party and the opposition, as it could suggest dissatisfaction among the city's influential voters.

For the BRS, a win will signal resurgence and validation, proving its resilience and ability to retain established strongholds in Hyderabad despite recent setbacks in the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It will also boost morale ahead of the 2028 Assembly election.

And a loss would deepen that post-electoral decline, making it harder for the BRS to regain political relevance and consolidate its position as the main opposition force.

In the case of the BJP, a strong performance will bolster its narrative as a rising force in Telangana, strengthen its urban base and provide momentum for the 2028 election.

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