Hyderabad: With the counting of votes for the Jubilee Hills Assembly byelection set to begin at 8 am here on Friday, security has been beefed up in the entire constituency. The city police have imposed Section 144 at the Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium in Yousufguda, the venue for counting, and its adjoining areas.
According to election authorities, stringent security arrangements, including deployment of central paramilitary forces, have been made around the strong room, where EVMs have been kept since the polling day.
The district election officer R V Karnan announced on Thursday that all arrangements are in place for counting of votes. He said “The process will begin with the counting of postal ballots, followed by EVM votes. Counting will be conducted in a maximum of 10 rounds.” In all, 59 candidates are in the fray for the coveted seat.
The election officer said that the entire process will be conducted under the supervision of general observers and ECI-appointed teams. “Live updates will be available through LED screens and the ECI app, ensuring transparency and real-time monitoring,” he said.
According to the DEO, the total votes polled were 1,94,631, including 99,771 (male), 94,855 (female), others (5) and postal ballots (101) marking the 48.49 per cent polling.
Joint Commissioner of Police Tafseer Iqbal said “Police teams from all divisions will be deployed at strategic locations, and Section 144 CrPC will be in force around the counting premises.”
The meeting was attended by Additional Commissioner Hemant Keshav Patil, Returning Officer P Sairam, Additional SP (Vigilance) Narasimha Reddy, Nodal officer for Media and communication, Dasharatham and others.
