Jagan slams coalition govt over ‘hijacked’ polls

Tadepalli: YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy slammed the coalition government for its ‘manipulative’ election process and for ‘subverting’ the democratic process like never before.

The Opposition, however, has fought back and exposed the follies of the ruling coalition, he said.

Speaking to the media at the party central office here on Thursday, Jagan Mohan Reddy said the entire electoral process had been hijacked by the Chandrababu Naidu government, from nominations to counting.

He said the government’s victory in urban local body polls was a moral defeat, while the Opposition had won the hearts of the people, even though the mandate had been subverted.

“The entire election process was hijacked by Chandrababu and his people, mocking democracy at every stage—from nominations to scrutiny, withdrawals, polling and even counting. Such an exercise does not merit being called an election, as it was neither free nor fair,” he said.

He alleged that in the ZPTC and MPTC polls, the script was the same as in the municipal polls, with the police and ruling party goons preventing Opposition candidates from filing nominations. This was followed by rejection of nominations during scrutiny, attacks on our polling agents, rigging and cycling of votes, he said.

“Such an election is a scar on the face of democracy. The ruling party resorted to all manner of malafide practices in local body elections across the State, from Tekkali and Kotabommali to Darsi, Kanigiri, Palamaner, and the Vemula and Lingala mandals of the Pulivendula constituency. Voters were prevented from exercising their franchise, rigging continued unabated, and the police acted as TDP agents, using force against voters,” he said.

The former chief minister alleged that despite the Supreme Court’s directives, there has been no change in the functioning of the coalition government. YSRCP cadre and booth agents were attacked with petrol bombs, he said.

Showing clips of violence during the local body and municipal elections, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked why anyone would vote for Chandrababu, who had failed all sections of society — from women and farmers to youth — by not honouring his promises.

In the municipal polls, the polling percentage and figures were fudged: the numbers were inflated at the counting tables, far exceeding the figures officially announced after polling.

“He has put Andhra Pradesh up for sale by handing over medical colleges and ports to private parties, while disregarding the common man despite the twin cyclones that wreaked havoc in the State,” YS Jagan said.

The manner in which the elections were held could serve as a case study in electoral reforms, as there is enough material, he said.

The YSRCP chief stated that while it was “Safe Andhra” during their term, people are now calling for “Save Andhra” because they are vexed with the ruling coalition.

“Like Shakuni’s magic dice in the Mahabharata, Chandrababu has rolled the official machinery in favour of the coalition. But we fought bravely and exposed the misdeeds at the national level,” he added.

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