lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Jan 25, 2019 17:55 IST

The Yuvajana Sramika Rytu Congress (YSRC) on Friday accused Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of tampering electoral lists to delete voters belonging to opposition parties.

A delegation headed by former state minister Botsa Satyanarayana met Andhra Pradesh chief electoral officer (CEO) Gopala Krishna Dwivedi urging him to rein in the ruling party and ensure a free and fair election for the state Assembly and Parliament scheduled in April/May.

Botsa said he had submitted a live case of electoral malpractices in Nellimarla assembly constituency in his native Vizianagaram district to the CEO.

Three persons armed with tablets were nabbed by his party activists and handed over to the police while allegedly collecting data from YSR Congress sympathisers with an intention to delete them from the lists, he alleged.

Instead of taking action against them, the police lodged five of his party workers in Poosapatirega police station for blowing the whistle, he said.

YSR Congress leaders also met director general of police RP Thakur in his chambers at Mangalagiri later seeking action against those behind the fraud and the release of his party workers.

Botsa alleged that the TDP is planning to delete 50 lakh voters identified as sympathisers and workers of the YSR Congress in constituencies considered “critical” to the ruling party across the state.

In the Nellimarla incident, the three persons identified as employees of Public Policy Research organisation, were hired by the TDP to carry out its alleged evil agenda, he alleged.

Earlier V Vijayasai Reddy, YSR Congress Rajya Sabha member, met Dwivedi’s predecessor RP Sisodia, charging the TDP with deleting over 34 lakh voters from the lists at the behest of the TDP during revision of electoral rolls. Sisodia promised to go into the complaints and set the record straight at the time of publishing final lists.

TDP lawmaker Bonda Umamaheswar Rao termed the allegations of YSR Congress baseless, saying the opposition leaders are preparing excuses for their defeat much before the elections. “When the preparation of electoral rolls is within the domain of the election commission, how could the TDP tamper the lists and resort to deleting opposition voters?” Rao asked.

In the Telangana state assembly election held in December 2018, the Congress has moved court seeking a direction to the state chief electoral office for acting on its complaints on alleged deletion of more than 35 lakh votes from the lists by the official machinery allegedly under the influence of the ruling Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS).