Hyderabad : In a significant development ahead of the November 30 elections to the Telangana Assembly, a staggering 4,798 candidates have officially thrown their hats into the ring. The last day for filing nominations saw a rush, with nearly half of the candidates—2,324, to be precise—submitting their papers in all 119 Assembly constituencies.
Since November 3, a total of 5,716 sets of nominations have been received by electoral officers. Notably, a majority of these candidates are running as independents. Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj reported that scrutiny of the nominations is scheduled for November 13, and candidates have until November 15 to withdraw their nominations.
The constituency with the highest number of candidates vying for a seat is Gajwel, where Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao seeks re-election for a third consecutive term. A whopping 145 candidates have filed nominations in Gajwel, making it a closely watched battleground. In this constituency, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president faces competition from BJP’s Eatala Rajender, also contesting from Huzurabad.
Chief Minister KCR is expanding his electoral presence by also contesting from Kamareddy, where a total of 92 candidates have filed nominations. The race in Kamareddy is heightened by the presence of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy.
Medchal, where Labour Minister Malla Reddy is contesting as a BRS candidate, saw 116 candidates filing their papers. However, Narayanpet constituency in Mahabubnagar district witnessed a relatively low participation with only 13 candidates in the fray. Similarly, Wyra (ST) in Khammam and Makthal in Narayanpet districts saw 19 candidates each filing their nominations.
As the electoral landscape unfolds, the scrutiny on November 13 and subsequent withdrawals by November 15 will determine the final list of candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections.
