Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy demands repolling in Pulivendula, alleges booth capturing and voter intimidation

Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 1 (ANI): Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday demanded repolling in Pulivendula, alleging large-scale electoral irregularities, booth capturing and intimidation of voters during the municipal elections.
Alleging that democracy was being undermined, Jagan accused the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of resorting to widespread electoral malpractice and claimed that YSRCP polling agents were forcibly removed from nearly 70 of the 80 polling booths in Pulivendula.
He said he was taking the affected polling agents to the Returning Officer (RO) to question how polling could be conducted without representatives of the Opposition party present at the booths.
Jagan alleged that TDP workers dragged YSRCP agents out of polling stations, while police personnel supported the ruling party. He further claimed that TDP workers occupied polling booths from 4 am and intimidated voters.
The YSRCP president alleged that the party's chairperson candidate, Pramilamma, was attacked and polling agent Sunanda sustained a fractured hand. He also claimed that voters were prevented from entering polling stations, women were threatened, and voter slips were forcibly snatched away.
Jagan alleged that bogus voting was taking place even before genuine voters arrived at polling stations. He also accused police personnel of obstructing YSRCP polling agents, resorting to lathi-charge at several places and forcibly taking a YSRCP councillor candidate into a police jeep.
Questioning the role of the police and district administration, Jagan said he had contacted the Superintendent of Police and the District Collector over the alleged irregularities but claimed that no action had been taken.
He further alleged that YSRCP polling agents were allowed inside only at the polling booth where his residence and vote were located. Similar incidents, he claimed, were being reported in Kadapa, Jammalamadugu, Chittoor, Macherla, Chilakaluripet, Tadipatri, Madanapalle and Chimakurthy.
Addressing Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Jagan questioned the conduct of the elections and alleged that the ruling party was setting an unhealthy political precedent. He warned that such practices could undermine the electoral process and lead to tensions between political workers.
Jagan also claimed that nearly 1,000 police personnel had been deployed in Pulivendula but alleged that they were being used to support TDP workers instead of ensuring free and fair polling.
He questioned the implementation of CCTV surveillance at polling stations, referring to Supreme Court directions, and asked how elections could be conducted without live CCTV footage.
In another allegation, Jagan claimed that permission granted for his helicopter to land in Pulivendula was suddenly cancelled while he was travelling from Bengaluru. He said he had received permission the previous day but was later informed that the helicopter would not be allowed to land for another three hours.
According to Jagan, he subsequently raised the issue with Civil Aviation authorities, following which permission was eventually granted for the helicopter to land in Pulivendula.
The former Chief Minister also criticised the state government over the implementation of its election promises, alleging that the Super Six and Super Seven assurances remained unfulfilled.
He claimed that students were facing difficulties due to delays in fee reimbursement and payments under Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena. He also alleged that government employees were unhappy over unfulfilled promises, women had been affected by the discontinuation of zero-interest loan benefits, and farmers were not receiving remunerative prices or the promised support.
Jagan appealed to the NDA leadership at the national level to respond to the alleged incidents, pointing out that the TDP was part of the alliance. He reiterated that the YSRCP would approach the Returning Officer over the alleged irregularities and demanded immediate intervention by election authorities and repolling in Pulivendula.
He said elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner and that no political party should be prevented from raising complaints over alleged electoral malpractice. (ANI)