Hyderabad, April 26 (IANS): Malkajgiri, which is the biggest parliament constituency in the country, accounts for the highest number of candidates filing their nominations in Telangana.

As many as 177 nominations were filed by 114 candidates in the constituency on the periphery of Hyderabad.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 895 candidates filed their nominations in all 17 constituencies in the state. On Thursday, which was the last day for filing of nominations, 348 candidates, mostly independents, filed their papers.

A total of 1,488 nominations were filed in all the constituencies with many candidates filing multiple sets.

Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said the scrutiny of nominations was taken up on Friday. April 29 is the last date for withdrawal of candidatures while voting will take place on May 13.

In Malkajgiri, the last day saw 63 aspirants filing their nominations, taking the total number of candidates to 114.

Chevella, which is also spread over Assembly segments on the outskirts of Hyderabad and surrounding districts, has the second highest number of contestants at 66. A total of 88 nominations were filed here.

In Peddapalli, 63 candidates filed their nominations while this number is 61 in Bhongir. Warangal and Hyderabad saw 58 and 57 aspirants filing their nominations respectively. Secunderabad constituency also recorded nominations by 57 candidates.

Adilabad saw the lowest number of candidates (23) filing their nominations. In Mahabubnagar and Nizamabad, 42 contestants each filed their nominations.

Majority of the candidates are independents or from smaller parties. Almost all the constituencies are likely to witness three cornered contests among ruling Congress, opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In 2019, BRS had bagged nine seats while BJP had won four. The Congress candidates were elected from three constituencies. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had retained the lone seat (Hyderabad).