Jagan accuses Naidu of ‘election subversion’, says TDP victory in ULB polls not people’s verdict

YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy

YSR Congress Party president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday accused Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu of ‘’compromising the credibility of democratic institutions for political gain by manipulating the recent local body elections and misusing official machinery’’.

Describing the alleged irregularities as “election subversion” and an “organised capture of democracy”, Mr. Jagan said Mr. Naidu would not have won had the elections been conducted in a free and fair manner.

Addressing a media conference at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli near here, he alleged that the ruling party had manipulated the electoral process from nominations to counting by using the police and administrative machinery to eliminate opposition candidates and suppress dissent.

Mr. Jagan said Mr. Naidu had resorted to electoral manipulation because he lacked the confidence to face the electorate after failing to fulfil the promises made before the Assembly elections. ‘’Having failed to implement the Super Six, Super Seven and other assurances, the Chief Minister had chosen to undermine the electoral process rather than face the people,’’ he alleged.

The YSRCP president alleged that his party's candidates were prevented from filing nominations, forced to withdraw and subjected to arbitrary rejection of their papers. He accused the police of colluding with TDP activists to intimidate opposition leaders and workers, while Returning Officers facilitated irregularities during scrutiny.

He also charged the State Election Commission with ‘’failing to function as an independent electoral authority and instead acting at the behest of the ruling establishment’’. The institutions responsible for protecting democracy, including the police and administrative machinery, had lost public credibility, he alleged.

Citing incidents from across the State, Mr. Jagan alleged that YSRCP polling agents were forcibly removed from polling stations, confined in police stations and prevented from monitoring the process. He accused TDP activists of booth-capturing, bogus voting and attacks on opposition workers, with the police allegedly remaining silent or assisting them.

Mr. Jagan said the YSRCP had withstood unprecedented repression in the history of Andhra Pradesh and the country. Its leaders and cadres had fought to protect people's rights to participate in elections, exercise their franchise and contest polls despite intimidation and attacks, he said.

He claimed that the party had brought the alleged irregularities to the attention of the country and praised its workers for resisting the ruling party's excesses.

“Chandrababu won, but lost. We lost, but won in the hearts of the people,” he said, asserting that the YSRCP's electoral defeat did not represent a rejection by the people.

A victory achieved through rigging and disregard for people's votes could not be considered their verdict, he said. “This is not merely an electoral battle. It is a struggle to protect people's rights,” he said, adding that the party would continue its fight for the right to vote, contest elections and exercise other democratic rights, despite cases against its leaders and workers.