Jagan Mocked Democracy By Refusing To Vote: TD

Vijayawada:Telugu Desam MLA Dhulipalla Narendra on Thursday accused YSRC president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of mocking democracy by refusing to cast his vote in the recent local body elections.

Addressing the media at the TD central office in Mangalagiri, Narendra highlighted the contradiction in Jagan Mohan Reddy's stand. “After the YSRC's defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy blamed EVMs. However, when the recent local elections were conducted using ballot papers, he visited a polling station but returned without voting. It was unprecedented for a party president to not vote for his own party's candidate,” the MLA said.

Rejecting allegations of intimidation of rival candidates by the ruling alliance, Narendra cited nomination figures. He said YSRC candidates filed 17,726 nominations for MPTC and 1,445 for ZPTC elections. Congress candidates filed nominations in 117 seats, other regional parties in 158 and independents in 287 seats. These figures exposed the false claims of suppression, he said.

Recalling the scenario during the YSRC term, Narendra alleged that opposition candidates in Punganur and Palnadu had been beaten, threatened and kidnapped to secure unanimous victories. He said the Supreme Court had directed the state election commission to consider extending nominations by up to 48 hours wherever necessary, providing aggrieved candidates an opportunity to contest.

Narendra said the SEC and police had ensured a level playing field. He warned that Gen Z voters would reject destructive politics and advised Jagan to accept the people's mandate instead of making excuses for his party's decline.