Tough tussle in Malkajgiri with 42 candidates in fray

​Hyderabad: The highest number of candidates, about 42, are contesting from Malkajgiri Assembly constituency and the lowest from the Banswada segment in the ensuing elections for the State Assembly to be held on December 7. The total number of candidates in the fray are 1,821 and the total number of constituencies are 119.

Congress is contesting in 99 assembly segments, Telangana Rashtra Samithi-119, Bharatiya Janata Party-118), Bahujan Samajwadi Party- 107, CPM-26, NCP-22, Telugu Desam -13, Majlis-8 and CPI is fighting in three Assembly segments.

Participating in the Meet the Press here, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar appealed to the youth and the educated of the State to play a “vigorous and active” role in elections by casting their votes to shape out policies by the government, instead of keeping away from polling on one excuse or the other.

The official said that those displeased with the candidates in the fray, can press the Nota option on the EVM. Large number of Nota votes would convey to the victorious candidate that a majority of people in his constituency did not trust him and he won by slender margin. Such a situation would instill a feeling in him that he would not be opted next time.

The Election Commission had introduced several reforms in the election system and the latest one stipulated that candidates should necessarily furnish the details about their criminal antecedents and display the same in the print-electronic media thrice to enable the people to vote accordingly. “Those in the trade and industry can’t expect policies such as subsidies to industries without voting,” he said.