Vijayawada: YSR Congress has urged to count votes with the protection of Central forces. YSRC has further sought stern action against the Election officials in Chittoor district, including District Collector P.S. Pradyumna, for colluding with Telugu Desam and committing anomalies on the polling day on April 11.
YSRC leaders, led by its MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, met the officials of the Election Commission of India at New Delhi on Saturday and submitted a memorandum with their demands. They alleged that Chandragiri YSRC Assembly constituency candidate Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy had lodged a complaint about rigging in the polling booths on April 12 with the EC officials, with evidence, but in vain. Hence, they later lodged a complaint with the ECI. They claimed that rigging was committed by the TD in seven polling booths and sought repoll in seven polling booths.
YSRC leaders sought action against the Chittoor District Collector and Rapthadu Returning Officer for blatantly supporting TD during the election process.
Speaking to mediapersons, after submitting a representation to the EC, YSRC National general secretary and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy along with Mekapati Raja Mohan Reddy said: “TD has been planning to create law and order problem at places where the results have been going against it and has been training the counting agents as provocateurs. We have urged the EC to provide additional forces, during counting, at all the centres to thwart any untoward incident. We have also brought to the notice of the EC about the duplicity of voting by students whose names have not been rounded off from the original voters’ list, despite casting their vote, and they were allowed to use the option of postal ballot,” Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy said.
Mr Reddy said that they have also made a strong appeal to restrain Chittoor District Collector P.S. Pradyumna from taking part in the election duty, on the counting day, as he had behaved like a Telugu Desam worker and similar is the case of Rapthadu Returning Officer in Anantapur district. On the ongoing controversy on repoll in five polling stations in Chandragiri constituency, he said that our candidate Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy has filed a complaint on April 12 itself but the District Collector had influenced the RO, not to record any irregularities. “We have secured and submitted strong evidence to show that only one person has been pressing the button in the polling booths while the Dalits were just being marked with the indelible ink mark and were being sent out, without allowing them to exercise their franchise”.
Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy alleged the same methodology was employed in the 2014 election as well and in all the five booths.
