‘YSRCP govt manipulating poll process’, Chandrababu Naidu complains to Election Commission

VIJAYAWADA: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday met Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar here and raised a slew of complaints against the ruling YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh. Accompanied by Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan, Naidu said they explained all the issues clearly to the Election Commission, whose members are on a two-day visit to the state ahead of the forthcoming legislative assembly and Lok Sabha elections. “Atrocities are happening unlike any other time. Democracy is being ridiculed. To restrain us from working, they (YSRCP government) tried to destroy the entire structure of our party, its workers and leaders,” Naidu alleged, addressing reporters after meeting the Election Commission.

The former CM also alleged that the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led state government has resorted to manipulation of voters lists by including bogus voters. The TDP chief appealed to the Election Commission to allocate officials for election duty on the basis of best practices followed at the national level.

According to Naidu, experienced personnel such as teachers and government officials are generally appointed on election duty whereas the YSRCP government is assigning women police officials as booth level officers (BLO). Stating that 2,600 women police officials have been assigned as BLOs in 83 constituencies, he questioned their expertise in election duties. He demanded that the Election Commission deploy central police observers if needed, set up a separate cell, and monitor the election process to root out irregularities. Naidu also brought to the attention of the EC that government officials, including district collectors, have been participating in an election campaign titled ‘Why AP Needs Jagan’ to promote the YSRCP chief. Complaining that thousands of cases have been filed against TDP and Janasena leaders and activists, Naidu said 250 persons were booked in the Punganur case alone and now bindover cases are being filed. The Election Commission gave a patient hearing to all their complaints and vowed to protect democracy without compromise, the TDP chief said. In the event of irregularities, Naidu said, his party would fight until action is taken.