HYDERABAD: A total of 130 candidates have submitted their names for the Telangana by-election for the Munugode Assembly.

The deadline to submit candidates was October 14. The deadline for the withdrawal of nominations is October 17, and the election authorities began their investigation on October 15.

Candidates from smaller parties and independents have also submitted their paperwork for the November 3 by-election, in addition to those running on behalf of the three major political parties, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress.

The resignation of Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who left the Congress to join the BJP, forced a by-election. He has officially declared himself the BJP contender.

K. Prabhakar Reddy, who came in second to Rajagopal Reddy in the 2018 elections, has been nominated by the ruling TRS. In 2014, Prabhakar Reddy was elected from the same district. Palvai Sravanthi, a woman leader for the Congress party, is running for office.

The returning officer received 142 nominations in all. On the final day, as many as 85 nominations were submitted. However, there are 130 participants because major party candidates have submitted multiple sets of nomination papers.

Candidates from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), and a number of other smaller parties have also submitted nomination papers. Independents make up the majority of the competitors. They include some Osmania University students who are unemployed and people who have been displaced by the Cherlagudem reservoir.

The number of nominations submitted for the constituency is at its highest level in more than 20 years. A record 480 nominations were submitted in 1996. To raise awareness of the fluorosis issue in the area, a number of candidates have entered the race.

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