Hyderabad: In preparation for the upcoming Jubilee Hills by-election, Hyderabad District Election Officer and GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan has called on political parties to submit any objections regarding the rationalisation of polling stations, in line with directives from the Election Commission. During a special meeting at the GHMC headquarters, Karnan announced that 408 polling stations are being proposed, an increase from the current 329. He explained that while polling stations were previously in 132 locations, they are now proposed for 139 locations, with 79 new stations being set up. As the rationalisation report must be submitted to the Election Commission by August 28, the Commissioner has set a deadline of August 26 for any objections.

Karnan also confirmed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been assigned to the existing 329 polling stations. He noted that only a limited number of political parties have provided their lists of booth-level agents and urged others to do so without delay, adding that BLOs for the 79 new stations would be appointed soon. The Commissioner further detailed the status of voter registration applications, stating that from January 6 to August 15, out of 19,237 applications, 3,767 were rejected and 16 are pending. He provided a breakdown of applications by form type, noting rejections in Form 6 (1,478 rejected out of 5,426), Form 7 (1,010 rejected out of 3,453), and Form 8 (1,279 rejected out of 10,358).

To ensure the smooth execution of the by-election, the District Election Officer has appointed a team of nodal officers.

These include Khairtabad Zonal Commissioner Anurag Jayanthi for manpower management, Kukatpally Zonal Commissioner Apoorva Chauhan for EVM & VVPAT, and L.B. Nagar Hemant Keshav Patil for training. Other key appointments are CTO Srinivas for transport management, Admin Additional Commissioner K. Venugopal for material management, Additional SP Vigilance M. Sudarshan for MCC, DSP Narasimha Reddy for law and order, and Chief Examiner of Accounts Venkateswar Reddy for expenditure monitoring. Wilson, Assistant Veterinary Officer, is designated for election observers, while Secunderabad Zonal Commissioner Ravi Kiran handles dummy ballot papers. The team is completed by CPRO Section PRO M. Dasharath for media communication, IT Joint Commissioner C. Radha for cybersecurity, IT AE Karthik Kiran for the helpline, and IT AE Tirumala Kumar for webcasting.