In Hyderabad’s upscale Jubilee Hills, the recent by‑poll drew just shy of half the voters. The polling station count ended at 48.49 % – the highest turnout for the seat since 2009, but still below the 50 % level the Election Commission hoped to hit.
The match‑day ended on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with 48.43 % of the 400,000 registered voters having cast their ballots. Those still lined up at the booths were allowed to vote until the final results were declared by the returning officer on Wednesday.
Last year’s Assembly election in the same constituency saw a turnout of 47.58 %. Jubilee Hills has long struggled with low voter participation, with figures tumbling to 45.59 % in 2018 and peaking only at 52.76 % back in 2009.
Election officials said they had stepped up efforts to mobilise voters. They ran targeted awareness campaigns, explained the voting process, and tried to stress the importance of using a voter’s franchise. Despite these moves, turnout fell short of the envisaged 60 % threshold.
The by‑poll was called after the death of sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The seat has become a key battleground. BRS ran Gopinath’s wife, Sunitha, while the Congress fielded Naveen Yadav and the BJP fielded Lankala Deepak Reddy. The contenders will be counted on November 14.
In the run‑up, exit polls and pundits tipped Congress to win, but both BRS and BJP politicians remained confident of a victory.
A notable absence from the election day celebrations was the cluster of Tollywood star‑actors. While a few, such as veteran actor Tanikella Bharani, filmmaker SS Rajamouli, and actor Gopichand, went to vote, big names like Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Junior NTR, Ramcharan, and Allu Arjun stayed away. Jubilee Hills, the heart of the Telugu film industry, hosts many studios and homes of artists, yet the celebrity turnout was muted.
Polls were otherwise peaceful across 407 stations. The constituency, though known for its affluent Jubilee Hills area, also holds numerous middle‑class and weaker‑section neighborhoods. The final tally will tell who captures this coveted seat in Telangana’s political landscape.
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