Hyderabad, Nov 11: About 9.2 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first two hours of polling in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency by-election on Tuesday.

Polling began at 7 a.m. across 407 polling stations and will continue till 6 p.m., according to the Election Commission. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath.

Over 4 lakh voters are eligible to vote, and 58 candidates are contesting. The main fight is between the ruling Congress, opposition BRS, and BJP.

The BRS has fielded Sunitha Maganti, wife of the late MLA, while Naveen Yadav represents Congress, and Lankala Deepak Reddy is contesting from the BJP.

Sunitha was among the first to vote at Yellareddyguda Srinagar Colony, urging all citizens to exercise their franchise. Congress and BJP candidates also cast their votes early in the day.

District Election Officer R.V. Karnan and Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharshan Reddy inspected several polling booths to ensure smooth conduct. Minor technical glitches were reported in 11 EVMs, which were promptly rectified.

For the first time, 139 drones were deployed to monitor polling stations in real-time, giving election authorities a bird’s-eye view to detect disturbances. A control room has been set up at the GHMC head office for drone surveillance.

Out of 407 polling stations, 226 have been identified as critical, with paramilitary forces deployed. Over 2,000 polling staff and 1,761 police personnel, including CRPF, are on duty to ensure peaceful polling.

Special arrangements such as live webcasting and mobile phone counters have been set up at all stations.

The constituency has 4,01,365 voters — including 2,08,561 males, 1,92,779 females, and 25 others. Around 6,859 voters are aged 18-19 years, and 2,134 voters are above 85. A total of 103 postal ballots were issued for senior citizens and PwD voters, of which 101 were used.