About 77.68 per cent of polling was recorded till noon in Hyderabad as the elections for the local body MLC (Member of Legislative Council) seat began on Wednesday.
The main contest is between the BJP’s N Gautham Rao and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM’s) Mirza Riyaz Ul Hassan Effendi. While the Congress is expected to support AIMIM, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has decided to abstain from the polling.
Aimim party president Asaduddin Owaisialong with party legislators, was among the first to cast his vote.
The election involves 112 eligible voters, including MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and corporators from the Hyderabad district. In the political context, the election will be closely watched as GHMC elections are due at the beginning of next year.
Though AIMIM, with 49 votes (seven MLAs, one MLC, one Lok Sabha MP and 40 corporators from Hyderabad district), and Congress with its 14 votes have a clear majority, the BJP is hoping for a tough fight and does not want to give AIMIM a walkover. The BJP has 29 votes, including corporators and MPs, MLAs and MLC. Meanwhile, the BRS (which has 20 votes) has issued a whip, directing all its leaders to abstain from voting. This is because it does not want to be seen supporting either the BJP or the AIMIM, which has gravitated towards the Congress.
The polling stations are located at the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) head office, and the polling will continue till 4 pm. The election was necessitated as incumbent MLC MS Prabhakar Rao will complete his term on May 1.
On the eve of polling, returning officer Anurag Jayanthi told the media that two polling stations have been set up at the GHMC headquarters and that the necessary staff and some more staff have been put on reserve at the two polling stations. He said that there will be four staff at each polling station, and Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will be implemented at the polling stations.
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Security arrangements have been made with about 200 to 250 policemen and about 500 officers and staff participating in the election duty.
“Training has been given to the polling and counting staff, and all the infrastructure has been set up at the polling stations. All steps have been taken to ensure that the elections are held freely in a peaceful atmosphere,” Jayanthi added.
In the backdrop of the elections, it was announced that April 23 will be a holiday for all employees working at the GHMC headquarters, except for those on election duty on polling day. Such employees will have to report for office duties on the second Saturday of June.
The votes will be counted on April 25.
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