211 candidates file nomination for bypoll, final list expected on Oct. 23
Hyderabad:The returning officer (RO) for the Jubilee Hills byelection on Wednesday accepted the nominations of candidates from three major political parties, Congress candidate V. Naveen Yadav, BRS candidate Maganti Sunitha and BJP candidate Deepak Reddy Lankala, even as scrutiny is on for 321 nominations filed for 211 candidates.
According to sources, the RO had scrutinised about 150 of the 321 nominations and the rest could be scrutinised on Thursday, following which a final list of eligible nominations will be released. More than 20 farmers of Ranga Reddy district filed nominations as a mark of protest on their issues.
As the last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 24, election officers are expecting some candidates to withdraw their nominations. However, the RO informed the CEO that they would require more EVMs in view of the large number of candidates in the race.
In a letter to the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Telangana, the returning officer said that a total of 160 candidates had filed 194 valid nominations. Until the last date for filing, October 21, the RO had received 321 nominations from 211 candidates. After scrutinising the papers, the RO approved 194 nominations filed by 160 candidates, including those from the three major parties — the Congress, BRS and the BJP.
Although Congress candidate Naveen Yadav and BRS candidate Sunitha filed two sets of nominations, the RO accepted one set per candidate. Congress candidate Naveen Yadav’s wife, Varsha Yadav, also filed her nomination, which was accepted by the RO.
Election Commission-appointed general observer Ranjit Kumar Singh witnessed the scrutiny of nominations on Wednesday, while police observer Om Prakash Tripathi inspected polling stations at critical polling locations. Later, he inspected the DRC (distribution, reception, counting centers) centre, strong room and check posts at the Vijayabhaskar Reddy Stadium and reviewed the security arrangements.
