Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj on Tuesday confirmed that the by-election for the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency will not be held alongside ongoing bypolls in other states. However, he stated the election must be conducted before December.
Speaking to reporters, the CEO said the Legislative Assembly’s vacancy notification for the constituency, following the death of BRS MLA M.P. Gopinath, has been forwarded to the Election Commission of India (ECI) without alteration.
Political activity around the bypoll is already underway, with both the Congress and BRS preparing for the contest. Gopinath passed away recently after a brief illness, leaving the seat vacant.
The CEO also announced several procedural updates for upcoming elections. The voter limit per polling station has been revised to 1,200. Additionally, a new restriction will prohibit political campaigning within one kilometre of polling stations on election day, replacing the previous 200-metre buffer.
Voters will be able to deposit mobile phones at polling booths, and booth-level officers (BLOs) and booth-level agents (BLAs) from Telangana will receive training from the ECI in New Delhi on June 26 and 27.
On the voter ID and Aadhaar linkage, Vikas Raj reported 87% completion in rural areas and 67% in urban regions of the state.