The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has urged the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer to order an audit into what it describes as “abnormally high” expenditure incurred during the recent Jubilee Hills byelection, warning that significant amounts of public money may have been wasted.
In a letter dated December 5, FGG president M. Padmanabha Reddy said that the District Election Authority had spent ₹5.91 crore on the bypoll, a figure the organisation argues is unjustifiably high for an urban constituency located in the heart of Hyderabad.
The forum noted that no new staff had been recruited, no vehicles purchased and no large-scale movement of personnel undertaken for the election. It also stressed that Jubilee Hills is not an extremist-affected area requiring heavy deployment of paramilitary forces.
The forum highlighted what it called a long-standing practice of election expenditure remaining unaudited, and contended that the unusually high spending in this case warranted a full review. Since the Election Commission is funded by the State government, the letter argued, “taxpayers’ money must be subject to accountability”.
The FGG has requested the Chief Electoral Officer to initiate an audit of the bypoll expenditure. A copy of the representation has also been sent to the Principal Secretary, General Administration Department, Government of Telangana.
Published – December 05, 2025 08:09 pm IST
