Pallam Raju sees growing support for Congress in local body polls

Senior Congress leader M. M. Pallam Raju addressing the media in Vijayawada on Monday.

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader M.M. Pallam Raju said the party was contesting the local body elections across Andhra Pradesh and its candidates were receiving encouraging public support.

Addressing the media at Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada on Monday, he said people, disappointed with the performance of successive governments in the State, were looking towards the Congress, with many aspiring to contest the elections on the party’s ticket.

Mr. Pallam Raju alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had failed to exert adequate pressure on the Centre to secure Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh.

Expressing concern over the electoral process, he said doubts over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had not been adequately addressed. He also criticised the alleged deletion of voters’ names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. People were observing the policies of the BJP-led government and would respond in the coming days, he added.

After the media conference, Mr. Pallam Raju participated in a door-to-door campaign in Singh Nagar, covering Divisions 73, 74, 76, 78 and 79 and Vambay Colony. Accompanied by party leaders and candidates, he met residents and appealed to them to support Congress candidates in the local body elections.