Hyderabad: Election authorities on Tuesday rejected 45 nominations, including of the Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate, in the by-election to Telangana’s Huzurnagar Assembly seat scheduled on October 21.
The returning officer found only 31 nominations in order during the scrutiny on Tuesday. A total of 119 nomination sets were filed by 76 candidates.
The CPI-M received a jolt as its candidate Shekhar Rao’s nomination was also rejected by the returning officer. According to officials, his nomination papers were not found in order. Rao and his supporters staged protests at the office of returning officer, alleging that his nomination was deliberately rejected.
Nominations of the candidates of the Telangana Inti Party, the Aam Admi Party and some other smaller parties and several Independents were also rejected.
October 3 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
The by-poll in Huzurnagar is necessitated by the resignation of state Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy from the Assembly following his election to Lok Sabha from Nalgonda constituency in the 2019 general elections.
Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife Padmavathi Reddy is the Congress candidate. It is likely to be a direct fight between Padmavathi Reddy and ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s Saidi Reddy.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also fielded their candidates for the by-election.
Meanwhile, in a setback to the Congress, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Tuesday announced its support to the TRS candidate. CPI state Secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said their decision was only for the by-election. He said made it clear that the party will not keep quiet if the TRS government pursues anti-people policies.
TRS leaders had met Venkat Reddy on Sunday, seeking CPI’s support for their candidate. Some Congress leaders had also called on the CPI leader on Monday.
The CPI, which fought Assembly elections in December 2009 in alliance with the Congress, decided to back the TRS.
The TDP, the CPI and the Telangana Janata Samithi (TJS) were part of Congress-led People’s Alliance in Assembly polls. The alliance had to bite the dust as the TRS retained power by winning 88 seats in 119-member Assembly.
The Congress, which won 19 seats, has since lost 12 of its MLAs to the TRS. One of TDP’s two MLAs also defected to TRS.
The CPI and the TJS, which drew a blank, have not entered the fray in Huzurnagar.