BJP to finalise Jubilee Hills bypoll candidate tomorrow
HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana Election Committee will meet on Tuesday to finalise its candidate for the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election.
According to party sources, a list of three shortlisted names will be sent to the party’s central leadership. The official announcement is likely to be made on Wednesday.
Three contenders in the race
The names of Juturu Keerthi Reddy, Veerapaneni Padma, and Lankala Deepak Reddy are reportedly under consideration.
Deepak Reddy, who contested from Jubilee Hills in the 2023 Assembly elections and finished third, is currently serving as BJP’s Central District president. Party insiders say it remains uncertain whether he will be renominated.
Central leadership to take final call
If Deepak Reddy is denied the ticket, Keerthi Reddy is seen as the frontrunner. Both Deepak Reddy and Keerthi Reddy are said to be close to Union Minister Kishan Reddy, and one of them is expected to represent the BJP in the bypoll.
District Election Officer and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner R V Karnan on Monday said sector officers act as crucial points of contact in the election process and must remain vigilant at all times.
He was addressing a training session for sector officers held at the GHMC head office in view of the upcoming Jubilee Hills Assembly byelection. Karnan instructed the officers to inspect all polling stations within their jurisdiction and ensure the availability of basic facilities such as drinking water, lighting, fans, toilets, and power supply as per the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) guidelines.
Focus on vulnerable mapping and ECI compliance
The commissioner asked the officers to carry out vulnerable mapping in coordination with local tahsildars, station house officers, and booth-level officers based on incidents from previous elections.
Later, a training session for the Expenditure Monitoring Team, Flying Squad Team (FST), Static Surveillance Team (SST), Video Surveillance Team (VST), Video Viewing Team (VVT), Model Code of Conduct (MCC) team, and Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) was also held. Karnan directed all teams to perform their duties strictly in accordance with ECI guidelines.
Nodal officers meet on smooth conduct of byelection
In the evening, Karnan convened a meeting with election nodal officers at Panwar Hall in the GHMC head office. He said nodal officers play a vital role in ensuring the smooth and transparent conduct of elections and asked them to closely monitor arrangements to maintain a peaceful atmosphere.
Zonal Commissioners Anurag Jayanti, Hemant Keshav Patil, Apoorva Chauhan, Hemant Sahadev Rao, Ravi Kiran, MCC Nodal Officer Narasimha Reddy, Chief Horticulture Officer Sunanda, and Electricity Executive Engineer Mamata were among those present.