The Telangana High Court has ordered the reopening of the strongroom of Telangana’s Dharmapuri Assembly constituency, four years after the election. This was done in response to a petition for recounting of votes filed by Congress candidate Aduluri Laxman Kumar. The court directed the poll officials to open the strongroom and submit the relevant documents to the court. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were kept under tight security at VRK College, and the Election Commission officials will submit 17A and 17C documents.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) candidate Koppula Eswar was declared elected by 441 votes and is now a minister in the state Cabinet. Eswar and Laxman secured 70,579 votes and 70,138, respectively. However, Laxman had filed a petition for setting aside Eswar’s election, alleging that there were irregularities in the counting of votes. Last year, the Supreme Court dismissed Edward’s petition seeking a stay on the proceedings in the High Court.
During the hearing of the case in the High Court, Laxman’s counsel had pointed out discrepancies. According to him, the returning officer in his report to the chief electoral officer said that the number of votes in all 269 polling stations was 1,65,209, which accounts for 79.96 per cent of polling. However, he claimed that as per the information furnished by authorities to them under the RTI Act, 1,65,341 votes were polled and the polling percentage was 80.02. Laxman remains hopeful that after examining the relevant documents pertaining to the polling percentage, the high court will order recounting.
The officials opened the strongroom in the presence of Jagtial district collector Shaik Yasmeen Basha. The reopening of the strongroom has been a significant development in the case, and Laxman’s hopes for a recount have been rekindled. To stay updated on Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, and Top Stories, subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp and Telegram. Our app for Android and iOS is also available for download.
