More than 50 per cent turnout was logged in the by-election to the Telangana Legislative Council from the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates’ constituency on Monday.
The polling, which began at 8 a.m. in 34 Assembly constituencies spread over 12 districts with the electorate comprising 4,63,839 graduates, came to an end at 4 p.m., but officials said those standing in the queues at 4 p.m. were allowed to cast their votes.
The Election Commission had set up 605 polling centres. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere. Authorities had made elaborate arrangements for peaceful and smooth conduct of the elections. Liquor shops were closed while Section 144 was imposed around the polling centres.
A total of 52 candidates are in the fray for the by-election but the main contest is among the Congress, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates.
Congress candidate Chintapandu Naveen alias Teenmaar Mallanna cast his vote in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. BRS leader and former minister Jagdish Reddy cast his vote in Suryapet district.
Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Banda Prakash exercised his right of franchise in Warangal. The vacancy arose after Palla Rajeshwar Reddy of the BRS resigned following his election to the Assembly from the Jangaon constituency in the 2023 elections. He was elected MLC in the election held in 2021.
Unlike in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, ballot papers were used in this by-election due to the preferential voting system.
The ruling Congress party, which has 33 out of the 34 MLAs in the graduates’ constituency, fielded Teenmaar Mallanna, who had contested as an independent and finished second in the election for the MLC seat held two years ago. He is locked in a three-cornered contest with Rakesh Reddy of the BRS and G. Permender Reddy of the BJP.
Premender Reddy had secured fourth place in the 2021 poll as the BJP candidate. Rakesh Reddy quit the BJP to join BRS just before the Assembly elections after he was denied a ticket from the Warangal constituency. Teenmaar Mallanna had also quit the BJP to join Congress just before the Assembly polls.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) declared their support for the Congress candidate.