Jubilee Hills bypoll to feature candidate photos on EVMs

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) C. Sudharshan Reddy on Tuesday announced that the upcoming by-election in Jubilee Hills assembly constituency will be conducted under new electoral reforms, including affixing colour photographs of candidates on electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The CEO held a meeting with representatives from the ruling Congress, BJP, BRS, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to discuss preparations for the bypoll.

According to an official release, Sudharshan Reddy said the by-election would follow the reforms introduced by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. These measures, first rolled out during the Bihar Assembly elections and eight other by-elections across the country, aim to improve voter convenience, transparency, and efficiency.

The reforms include capping the number of voters per polling station at 1,200 to reduce overcrowding, affixing colour photographs of all contesting candidates on EVMs and ballot units to help voters identify them easily, and deploying additional women polling personnel to encourage greater participation of women voters.

The CEO also reviewed the preparedness of various departments to ensure free, fair, and peaceful elections. He urged all political parties to cooperate fully and strictly follow the Model Code of Conduct.

The high-stakes by-election in Jubilee Hills will take place on November 11, with votes to be counted on November 14. The election was necessitated following the death of BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath in June this year due to a heart attack.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar announced the schedule for the bypolls in Delhi on Monday, highlighting the importance of implementing these new reforms to make the voting process more voter-friendly and transparent.