Voting commenced at 8 a.m. in the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies. A total of 56 candidates have entered the fray, but the main contest is between the candidates of the ruling Congress party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) The main opposition, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has stayed away from the contest. The counting of votes in all three constituencies will be held on March 3. The state government declared a holiday for educational institutions to facilitate a smooth polling process. The elections for teachers’ segments are contested on a non-party basis. The stakes are high for both the national parties, as the MLC election is being held about 15 months after the Assembly elections in which the Congress party wrested power from BRS. The Congress has fielded V. Narender Reddy, who is pitted against BJP’s C. Anji Reddy. The BJP, which won all four Lok Sabha seats in this segment last year, is confident of wresting the seat from Congress.
