Jagan Accuses TD-Led NDA of Hijacking Local Body Elections in AP

YSRC president and former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the ruling Telugu Desam-led NDA government of hijacking the local body election process in Andhra Pradesh, from filing of nominations to counting of votes.

Speaking to media in Vijayawada on Thursday, he accused the coalition government of manipulating the electoral process and undermining democracy. “Yet, the opposition fought back and exposed the government's irregularities,” Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted.

He maintained that the coalition government’s victory is a moral defeat, while the opposition has won the hearts of people in the state even after the mandate has been subverted.

Alleging electoral malpractices in the filing and scrutiny of nominations, withdrawals, polling, and counting, the YSRC president described the elections as neither free nor fair. He called the elections a scar on democracy.

He charged that the ruling party has resorted to malpractices across the state, citing Tekkali, Kotabommali, Darsi, Kanigiri, Palamaner, and the Vemula and Lingala mandals in Pulivendula assembly constituency. He claimed that rigging continued while police had been used to prevent voters from exercising their franchise.

Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that despite Supreme Court’s directives, there had been no change in the functioning of the coalition government. He claimed that YSRC cadres and polling booth agents had been attacked with petrol bombs.

He alleged that polling percentages in municipal elections had been inflated during counting, with figures at counting tables exceeding those officially announced at the close of polling.

The former chief minister said conduct of elections in AP could serve as a case study in electoral reforms, claiming there is sufficient material to establish alleged electoral malpractice.

He said people are now calling for “Save Andhra” when the slogan during his government's term had been “Safe Andhra.”