AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu appealed to the students to maintain self-confidence and overcome crisis situations like exam failures. He expressed shock and grief over the suicide of over 16 students following their unjustified failure in intermediate board examination. Naidu told the students community not to get frustrated or disappointed by such testing times. The youth should have patience and look for other alternatives to come up in life.
AP CM’s reaction came amid continuing incidents of suicides by students. There are allegations that the youth were taking extreme step because of the mistakes made by the intermediate board in Telangana. Student unions accused the board authorities of failing to ensure genuineness and transparency in results.
Meanwhile, Jana Senani Pawan Kalyan has also expressed shock over the spate of student suicides. Pawan asked the government to take responsibility and explain why there are lapses in valuation and results announcements. He called upon the youth not to take extreme step because of such failures. He appealed to the students to continue their hard efforts and work for their golden future.
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has suspected the role of Russian hackers in making electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunction during the elections held in AP. Claiming the rumours that Russian hackers have allegedly involved in hacking EVMs, while questioning the Election Commission (EC) and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for sabotaging the credibility of the electoral process across the country.
“Speculation is rife over the malfunctioning of EVMs to work in favour, for which hundreds of crores of rupees changed hands. However, I can’t confirm this, but rumours are spread across the nation. Only 18 countries are using EVMs in the world. EVMs can be hacked as hackers use several methods. I once gain demand the EC to check all the EVMs and VVPAT rolls. We’ll file a petition in Supreme Court in this regard,” maintained Naidu.
Holding Narendra Modi responsible for economy disturbance in the country, Naidu said that the voice of opposition parties is totally suppressed, while Modi government is also threatening the media against publishing or telecast of news about factual things. If anyone talks against the Centre, then Modi is ordering CBI and ED to raids against such leaders.
Naidu further expressed concerns over the complaints about malfunctioning of EVMs in Kerala, Goa and UP. Naidu has predicted less than 150 MP seats for BJP so it can’t form NDA government at the Centre this time.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday took exception to the Election Commission imposing restrictions on his review meetings and wondered if the Model Code of Conduct applies only to Andhra Pradesh.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to hold review meetings with the Intelligence Bureau and other departments and the poll panel has imposed no bar on him.
“Why there are restrictions only on Andhra Pradesh,” asked Naidu. He said if there were rules governing the review meetings, they should apply to all.
Reiterating the allegation that the Election Commission was working at the behest of Modi, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President said the poll body should work for India and not for Modi.
Naidu, who turned 69 on Saturday, was addressing a news conference here.
The Chief Minister said his fight was not against the EC but the manner in which it was functioning. He urged the poll body not to make mockery of democracy through its actions.
Naidu said the helicopters of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Odisha were searched but when an official searched the chopper of Modi, he was suspended.
The TDP chief said the democratic institutions were under threat and the Modi government was even trying to misuse the Election Commission.
Naidu recently held a review meeting on Polavaram project and state capital infrastructure works which did not go down well with the Election Commission.
On a complaint by YSR Congress Party, the Election Commission told the state government that it cannot hold meetings as the Model Code of Conduct still stands in the state.
Recalling that he started his political journey during student days from Tirupati, Naidu since then he had been fighting for justice and working hard with honesty.
Ever since the elections, The TDP supremo is on the warpath. He has launched a sort of a battle on the Election Commission of India(ECI). Even as his critics call it desperation due to the fear of imminent defeat, Chandrababu Naidu seems to be on no path of return.
His anger over the manner in which the ECI has been conducting itself is certainly justifiable given the storm of suspicion, criticism surrounding the functioning of an otherwise Constitutionally autonomous body.
The ECI was clearly found wanting on ensuring the polls uninterruptedly. Despite several phases of voting, the ECI failed to ensure that the EVMs do not report malfunctioning on the poll day. One can understand the problems in few EVMs given the character of the complex technology involved. But, the large number of EVMs developing technical snags in Andhra Pradesh is a point to ponder. This forced the authorities to allow voting later into the midnight, something un-precedent and unheard of. Despite two decades of experience, why technically fool proof EVMs could not be ensured? Why should the EVMs still develop such teething troubles?
Adding further confusion, there is a significant difference in the number of EVMs that developed malfunctioning reported by the ECI and claimed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. The reports emanating from the ground do not inspire confidence in the claims of ECI though the TDP claims may be over exaggerated.
The ECI has been failing in its duty to ensure free and fair elections as it could not even provide sanitised electoral rolls. In the age of information technology, preparation of electoral rolls without mistakes, duplication, etc is not a herculean task. A country that can develop an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and an anti-satellite weapon, failure of the ECI to prepare electoral rolls without any mistakes in incomprehensible. The Chief Electoral officer’s (CEO) admitted that they have asked for more central forces but have not received them and the reasons he said he was not aware. Why did the ECI fail to send an adequate number of central forces as the elections are held in the first phase itself and the state is witnessing simultaneous polls for Loksabha and Assembly?
The CEO of Telangana tried to absolve himself from faulty electoral rolls by stating simply sorry that too after the elections. Such a blatant denial of people’s right to vote is certainly unpardonable. Given the thin margins of victory, large scale missing of voters has the potential to tilt the mandate.
The adamancy being displayed by the ECI on the request of over 20 political parties to order a count of 50 per cent of VVPAT machines has further eroded the credibility and partiality of ECI. It may be recalled here that ECI has not suo motto initiated the Confidence Building measures like attaching VVPAT machines. The Supreme Court made it do so. It is surprising that ECI took a hard stand on the question of counting the VVPAT machines. It stood firm on its stand to count only one polling booth in an assembly constituency by random method. The apex court has ordered the ECI to count five such machines in a constituency. The reasons cited by the ECI for its refusal to count more VVPAT machines are flimsy. The ECI said that the counting process will take another week. What’s wrong when the people of Andhra Pradesh are already waiting for over six weeks for their votes to be counted due to multiphase voting. They can still wait for a week more. The Counting of VVPAT machines will only need limited resources. Such a count would clear the doubts over the efficacy of EVMs and more so it would clarify on the possibility of tampering of EVM. Nothing else can be more important than ensuring the people’s confidence in the democratic electoral process.
Meanwhile, some acts of EC have raised questions over the political impartiality of the institution itself. The ECI delayed the announcement of poll schedule in three Hindi states to enable Modi to complete his rally in Rajasthan. Similarly, the Gujarat poll schedule was also delayed to give sufficient time for the ruling BJP. The ECI failed to act even when Modi and Amit Shah violated the commission’s guidelines not to invoke the army in the campaigning. Despite the ECI orders, Modi continues to seek votes in the name of Pulwama martyrs and Balakot heroes. Thus ECI remains a spectator. The Commission acted only after the apex court pulled it up. But, the action was limited to Yogi Adityanath, NaMO TV and Modi biopic.
All these questions over the ECI are perfectly justified. Naidu has a grievance over the transfer of even the Chief Secretary and the Intelligence chief. This can also be understandable. But, Naidu’s crusade did not end here. He went on to attack the ECI officials. He expressed doubts over the EVMs to the extent of claiming that his vote was wrongly registered. How is it possible that he could notice wrong registration of his vote. No voter has complained so. Naidu has not raised any objection on EVMs in 2014 when he won the polls. Despite being an active partner in both NDA-1 and NDA-2 governments, Naidu did precious little to return to the ballot. In fact, Vajpayee government was surviving on the support of Naidu. Naidu has been questioning the powers of ECI. A simple reading of the Constitution will tell that ECI is certainly powerful during the elections.
Such unrelenting crusade that crossed even established standards will only defeat the very purpose of the struggle to protect the autonomy of the constitutional body and ensure the impartiality and transparency of EVMs.
( Prof.K. Nageshwar is India’s noted political analyst. He is a former member of the Telangana Legislative Council and professor in the Department of Communication & Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India )
AP CM Chandrababu Naidu is making a relentless attack on PM Modi and the Election Commission of India. He asked the ECI why it has brought VVPAT machines when they are not used effectively along with the EVMs. What’s the problem to cross-check VVPAT slips with EVM counting. The VVPAT slips count is the more reliable method for a fair election process.
Naidu held meetings with the TDP leaders when he said that Modi has destroyed the ECI just like he crippled the CBI, ED, Income Tax department, etc. The ECI has totally surrendered to Modi and they are not functioning independently. The VVPAT machines are of only ornamental value now. The ECI should explain to the country why it spent thousands of crores on these machines when it’s not wanting to count VVPAT slips.
There is a facility for the voter to check whether his vote was cast properly or not. It’s there in VVPAT. Even in this feature, the voters were not given proper information on what to do if their slips were not shown clearly on VVPAT machines. The ECI told voters that the VVPAT slips display for 7 seconds but this has not happened in respect of many voters.
The AP police are taking stringent action against the YCP cadres involved in the poll violence. Cases are being booked against those responsible for attacks on Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and other TDP leaders in Nellore, Tadipathri and other places. Jaganmohan Reddy complained to Governor ESL Narasimhan that CM Chandrababu Naidu is misusing the official machinery which should be prevented till May 23. He also accused Chandrababu of forcing the AP officials to favour those recommended by him.
Later Jagan commented on the claims of Chandrababu Naidu on the IT development and modern Hyderabad. Strongly countering this, TDP National Spokesman Lanka Dinakar said that Chandrababu had the credit of getting Satyam Ramalinga Raju to sit beside Bill Gates while Jagan was responsible for Raju’s total downfall and destruction. It was a fact that the YCP goondas caused bleeding injuries to the Speaker and made a murder attempt on a TNSF leader in Nellore.
Mr Dinakar said that Jagan once again proved what sort of a psychopathetic liar he was going by how he was spreading casteist misinformation campaign on the transfers of 40 DSPs.
AP CM Chandrababu Naidu has decided to campaign against PM Modi’s candidature in Varanasi. The Congress is expected to field Priyanka Gandhi here. This election will be the centre of nation wide attention. TDP MLC Buddha Venkanna says that Chandrababu will show to Modi what the real strength of the TDP in coming days. With Naidu’s entry, Modi’s win will be very difficult there.
Venkanna says that the TDP took serious view of how the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) are acting as per the suggestions given by YCP leader Vijayasai Reddy who is accused number two in 12 criminal cases.
He said that the ECI and Modi were undemocratic and making a mockery of the Constitution by not conducting the election process in a free and fair manner. PM Modi played the role of mediator to make the ECI totally take a partial stance to favour YCP President YS Jaganmohan Reddy. The YCP and ECI are wrongly saying that one blood test is enough to diagnose the disease since there are more tests like X-ray, CT Scan, etc are required. Fifty percent VVPATs should be counted to ensure fair election.
Mr Venkanna said that the ECI’s actions have given rise to doubts and suspicions among the voters on the polling process which is why CM Chandrababu Naidu has taken up a nation wide campaign against the vulnerable EVMs.
The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are at the centre of an intense electoral and political controversy in the country right now. CM Chandrababu Naidu has taken it very seriously to prove that the EVMs can be hacked. So, these vulnerably machines should be set aside by bringing back the age old ballot paper system which has no scope for massive manipulation. Naidu is camping in Delhi now to prove that the Election Commission of India is not honest about the flaws in the EVMs.
Vemuru Hari Prasad, technical advisor to AP government, has asserted that the ECI has not yet proved that EVMs are fool-proof and that they are not vulnerable. He says that different countries are sending their EVMs to international hackers’ event ‘Def Con’ held in America every year to test their effectiveness. It helps to find flaws, if any, for taking up improvements in the machines. India has never sent its EVMs there.
Just like Def Con, the Indian Hackers Association conducts ‘Nullcon’ event in Goa where also expert hackers arrive to display their talent. Hari Prasad has earlier suggested to the ECI to sent EVMs to this event to test its strong and weak points. But this suggestion is also set aside. With technical questions remaining unanswered, the issue is now caught up in a serious political storm with 21 opposition parties demanding return to paper ballot system.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu will be campaigning for ruling Janata Dal-Secular-Congress alliance in Karnataka.
On the request of JD-S chief and former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, Naidu will be visiting Karnataka on Monday to address few election rallies.
Naidu, along with Deve Gowda and his son and Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, will campaign in few Lok Sabha constituencies, especially those having sizeable Telugu-speaking people, TDP sources said.
With elections to both Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha completed in a single phase on April 11, Naidu will be campaigning for allies in other states, where elections are scheduled in subsequent phases.
Deve Gowda had last week addressed an election rally for the TDP in Andhra Pradesh. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah had also addressed couple of election rallies of the TDP.
However, it was not clear if Naidu would also visit West Bengal and Delhi to campaign for the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Admi Party.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday that his fight for replacing EVMs with ballot papers is to protect democracy in India.
Naidu, also the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, claimed that only 18 out of 191 countries were using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for conducting the polls.
He reiterated that the machines can be manipulated and that even the developed countries were not using them.
Naidu was speaking at a meeting organised by opposition parties at Constitution Club of India on the topic ‘Save democracy – Transparency in election process and protection of voters rights’.
Demanding transparency in the conduct of the elections, the meeting decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court for counting of VVPAT slips.
Paying tribute to Dr B. R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, on the occasion of his 128th birth anniversary, Naidu cited his quote: “Vote is sharper than a knife and if it is rightly used, the voter will be the king and if it is sold, he will remain as a slave.”
He alleged that technology was misused during the Telangana elections to delete 25 lakh votes and when this was pointed out to the poll officials, they merely said “sorry”.
Claiming that services of contract employees were used for maintenance of EVMs, he asked the Election Commission if it would own responsibility for their wrong-doings.
Naidu also alleged that there was a chance of tampering EVMs by managing the micro controller and chips.
He said even the developed countries like Germany preferring ballots for polling. He said there should be transparency in election process.
“The Election Commission lost credibility with the non-functioning of EVMs at majority of places in Andhra Pradesh,” Naidu said, claiming that around 20 to 30 per cent EVMs did not function during the elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats on April 11.
He said the BJP government failed to honour the demand of opposition parties to reintroduce the ballot system, and also accused the Modi government of harassing opposition leaders through Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate raids.
The Chief Minister also said the Election Commission transferred officials in Andhra Pradesh without the consent of the state.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working President K. T. Rama Rao on Sunday said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu was raising doubts about electronic voting machines (EVMs) out of fear of losing the elections.
Reacting to Naidu leading a campaign along with some other parties against the EVMs, Rao wondered how Naidu, who had won the 2014 elections with EVMs, could now be saying that these can be tampered with.
Angry over the malfunctioning of the EVMs during the April 11 voting in Andhra Pradesh, Naidu has slammed the Election Commission, claiming that the voting machines can be manipulated, and has demanded that the poll body revert to the system of paper ballots.
KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, said there was no scope for tampering with the EVMs, and remarked that if this had happened, people would have revolted.
KTR, who is the son of TRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, said Chandrababu Naidu should stop playing “cheap” politics. He said fear had gripped the TDP chief when the Election Commission order the transfer of officials.
The TRS leader said Naidu’s panic clearly showed that he was on his way out.
When asked about the functioning of the Election Commission, the TRS leader said while he had no right to point fingers at the poll body, there was a need for change in its functioning.
He also said that while the smooth and peaceful conduct of the elections in Telangana reflects the governance in the state, the violence and chaos during polling in Andhra Pradesh indicate the quality of governance in the latter.
KTR exuded confidence that TRS would win 16 out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, while its ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will retain Hyderabad. He also predicted that BJP and Congress will both lose their deposits in a few constituencies.
He reiterated that a coalition government will be formed at the Centre and the regional parties would play a key role in its formation.
The demontisation has had its vicious impact on the elections as well. CM Chandrababu Naidu says that the Rs 2,000 currency notes were brought for the first time in history only to make a mockery of elections and the very foundation of democracy. This has threatened to uproot the ideals that Dr Ambedkar stood for.
Naidu took part in the birthday celebrations of Ambedkar at AP Bhavan in Delhi. He pointed out that Ambedkar framed the Indian Constitution when he called upon the people to use voting rights to strengthen democracy but not become slaves by selling votes. But now evil plans were hatched to destroy this Ambedkar spirit by continuing the EVMs which are not tamper proof. In no developed country in the world, the EVMs are used. Chandrababu deplored that they are raising objections to the demand for counting 50 per cent VVPAT slips. Such processes should be in place that there should be no scope for any suspicions or doubts. Naidu recalled how the Election Commission just said sorry to wash its hands of the wrongful deletion of 25 lakh votes in 2018 Telangana election. No action was taken to punish those responsible for fake voter deletion request forms in AP on a massive scale.
Elections are over in Andhra Pradesh. But, the political fight continues. Chandrababu Naidu shifted the scene of war to New Delhi. Soon he will make it a national fight in the remaining phases of elections. Naidu is expected to tour other states in support of his regional allies especially those who campaigned for him.
While Chandrababu Naidu launched an all out battle on Election Commission of India, the opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy is conspicuously silent on the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines. The YSR Congress MP, Vijaya Sai Reddy has gone to the extent of writing a letter of appreciation for the work done by the ECI. Thus, the Andhra political battle is fought around the functioning of EC . Thus, the politics, more than the facts dominate the discourse on EC.
The autonomy of ECI was never in question as it is today. There are justifiable reasons for this. The election schedule announcement for the three Hindi states was delayed by couple of hours to ensure that Prime minister Narendra Modi completes his rally in Rajasthan and the BJP chief Minister rolls out her promises thus escaping the scrutiny under the model code of conduct. Earlier, the Gujarat election schedule announcement was unacceptably delayed to give sufficient time for the ruling BJP to continue with it s poll populism. The EC remains unconcerned even when its own guidelines on model code are brazenly violated. The ECI cautioned all the parties not to invoke the army in electioneering. But, Narendra Modi sought votes in the name of Pulwama martyrs and Balakot soldiers. The photographs of armed forces are used. The Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Adityanath described Indian army as Modi army. The ECI acted on Modi biopic and Namo TV only after a furore over it.
The failure of ECI to sanitise the electoral rolls is palpable. Complainants of large scale deletions and non inclusions are a shame on our democracy. In the age of technology, how is that ECI fails to compile a reasonably accurate voter list.
The Election Commission offered simple regrets on its failure to ensure that no genuine voter is deprived of his or her voting rights that too after the Telangana Assembly elections.
The controversial transfer of state government officers in Andhra Pradesh added fuel to the fire.
But, the worst has come on the polling day with significantly large number of EVMs developing technical snags forcing the authorities to delay the poll for hours together. It is unprecedented that voters had to cast their vote late into the midnight. It still remains a mystery why such a large number of EVM reported malfunctioning only in Andhra Pradesh.
The blatant refusal of the ECI even in the Supreme Court to count more number of VVPATs raise further doubts in the minds of voters and parties alike. It may be recalled that apex court had to force ECI to introduce VVPAT machines and finally had to order the commission to count five machines in each assembly constituency.
The election eve IT raids on opposition leaders across the nation and the ECI remaining a passive spectator made the criticism on it more strident.
Despite all this, YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s silence on the failures of ECI to conduct free and fair elections is incomprehensible. However, Chandrababu Naidu’s demand for doing away with EVMs has to be received with at least some contempt. Chandrababu Naidu expressed similar apprehensions on EVMs after the 2009 verdict. But he has not done so after his victory in 2014. Even while in NDA Naidu did precious little to bring about a political consensus on the return to ballot. Not just Naidu, every other politician questions the EVMs only when they are on loosing wicket or lost the match. They will be conspicuously silent if they receive the mandate. The BJP in 2009 did so. KCR was critical of EVMs in 2009. But now is more than happy with the EVMs. More surprisingly, the Congress questioned EVM use in Telangana but not in the three North Indian states where it won.
Such political duplicity robs the shine from the crusade on EVMs. Yet, genuine questions on the technology still remain. The ECI has to answer. No technology can be completely tamper proof. Therefore, it is more than imperative to restore the voters confidence in the EVMs. This demands introduction of checks and verifiability .
Counting a significant number of VVPATs will go a long way in restoring this confidence in the EVMs. Ensuring that these machines are free from malfunctioning is yet another necessity. Politicians should realise that it is undesirable to throw the baby with the bathwater.
( Prof.K. Nageshwar is India’s noted political analyst. He is a former member of the Telangana Legislative Council and professor in the Department of Communication & Journalism, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India )
Hyderabad: TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has advised the Election Commission of India (ECI) to get back to old polling system i.e. paper ballot system, while expressing concerns over the malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) at several polling stations in AP.
“We have to protect sanctity and spirit of democracy in the country. It’s the responsibility and duty of the Centre, state governments and citizens as well. For this, we want ECI to revert to old paper ballot system. Several malafide actions took place in the just concluded Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. The election process totally lacked transparency and this has created many doubts about the voting process. The Election Commission had failed to maintain its transparency, impartiality and professionalism,” Naidu stated in a letter submitted to the ECI.
Naidu along with party senior leaders met ECI and briefed about the malfunctioning of EVMs. Police force was also not deployed properly at the polling stations. This has resulted in failure of controlling the violence and physical attacks during the electoral process, said Naidu.
“Security arrangements were not upto the mark at the polling stations and this gave a free hand to criminal elements during the election day,” remarked Naidu.
The AP chief minister further lambasted the Centre for indulging undemocratic practices through ECI. AP had elections for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly constituencies on April 11 and results are scheduled on May 23.
Did CM Chandrababu Naidu predict that he might have to clash with a bigger alliance of his enemies? Has Naidu stepped up his welfare agenda to the next level well in advance to counter this challenge? Undoubtedly, Naidu was seen giving greater priority to welfare though in a silent way. This was quite unusual for him who is known for his development initiatives. If Naidu remained the same leader prior to 2004, the present election would have been the toughest one for him to crack.
It was no easy task. CM Chandrasekhara Rao and PM Modi threw their whole weight behind Jaganmohan Reddy to defeat TDP more than making Jagan the chief minister of AP. TDP’s Andhra leaders were given big problems as their assets are located in Hyderabad. On the other hand, IT and CBI raids continued on TDP leaders in AP as well.
In his own words, Naidu said several times that what would have happened to the TDP if he had lost confidence because of these tactics of enemies. The opponents also tried to take advantage by catching Naidu unprepared to face the election. Prashant Kishor team was busy planning for YCP for many months well in advance. But it obviously had no impact as the TDP looked as always a well-prepared, strongly-built organisation under Naidu to weather any storm.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the Election Commission (EC) has lost its credibility as “it functions on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office”.
Raising questions on the poll panel’s independence and impartiality, Naidu told reporter outside the EC headquarters here that the level playing field — an essential attribute of democracy — “now stands disturbed”.
The Chief Minister was speaking after his meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said officials in Andhra Pradesh are being transferred in an arbitrary manner and the Chief Secretary (Anil Chandra Punetha) has been replaced by a person (L.V. Subrahmanyam), who was accused along with YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in a case. He described the ousted Chief Secretary as an honest officer.
Dubbing the acts of the poll panel as “unfair”, Naidu said the Election Commission has lost credibility among the people of the country and its image has been dented in their eyes.
He also alleged that the poll panel observer in the state has links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Recalling that all opposition parties had demanded for 50 per cent matching of EVMs with VVPATs, Naidu said that increasing that number from one to five by the Supreme Court is “insufficient”.
Accusing the Commission of “misleading” the top court by saying that matching of EVM votes with VVPATs at 50 per cent polling booths would delay the counting of votes by six days, Naidu said the counting of votes when ballot papers were prevalent used to take not more than 24 hours.
The Chief Minister stated that the government of India is interfering in the affairs of the poll panel, thereby destroying democracy, electoral process and the level playing field.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday visited the EC office here to complain the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during polling in the state on Thursday.
A day after polling for all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, which was marred by the malfunctioning of some EVMs, Naidu on Friday blasted the Election Commission (EC) for what he called “turning the elections into a big farce”.
The Jagan-KCR-Modi combination appeared stronger initially. The massive misuse of IT, CBI, ED and the Election Commission of India raised doubts whether Chandrababu Naidu could withstand this challenge. Unlimited manipulation of the election machinery by the Prashant Kishor teams really shook the morale of TDP sympathisers. Naidu had to repeatedly motivate and create confidence in the party leaders and activists. Jaganmohan Reddy and his party were confident of their planned surgical strikes to get an edge over the TDP.
All of a sudden, the polling day presented a dramatically different scenario. Chandrababu Naidu started dominating the polling day all through. In the first hour itself, Naidu began his counter surgical strike by complaining to the Election Commission about the malfunctioning EVMs and undue delay in polling process. By afternoon, Naidu made repeated appeals to the voters to come back to polling stations and cast their votes without fail to save AP and protect democracy. The voters especially women and the aged persons responded enthusiastically. The DWCRA groups and other women beneficiaries gave undoubted support to TDP. The rivals were apparently not prepared to face Naidu’s counter strikes. All their violence and last minute desperate plans fell flat.
Hyderabad: TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has exerted confidence of winning 130 Assembly seats this time while thanking the party cadres and polling agents for working patiently till Thursday midnight at polling stations. Naidu has rapped the Election Commission (EC) for the failure in ensuring enough infrastructure and foolproof mechanism for smooth electioneering.
“The failure of the EC was a willful act to create problems for women and other old-aged people. But, women and all sections of people have decided to cast vote for TDP and continued to stay in long queues even it was midnight. As per initial reports, TDP will bag 130 Assembly seats and there’s no second thought on it as this number may increase further. I appreciate and thank entire party cadre and polling agents for their commitment working till Thursday midnight at polling stations. We have to continue our fighting spirit till the announcement of results. We have to guard strong rooms these 40 days and our cadres should work in shifts for this. We need to be alert until the results declaration. The physical assaults of YSRCP indicate the party’s frustration.”
The polling was continued during midnight at over 200 polling booths in AP. All the Andhraites stood with TDP and this was vindicated in the polling pattern, remarked Naidu.
The overall polling in AP is expected to touch around 80 per cent. The higher polling has triggered wild speculation on which party will take benefit out of this. The TDP leaders are upbeat that Chandrababu Naidu’s welfare programmes have created a positive mood. This is main reason why the voters have taken part in voting regardless of any problems they faced during the day.
The YCP leaders and activists have resorted to violence at many places. TDP says this is not a concern for them as YCP is in total frustration and fear of losing the election going by the indications. The TDP made sure that all the voters standing in queues by 6 pm get a chance to vote. Chandrababu accused the YCP of creating a fear psychosis to reduce voting percentage out of their fear of defeat. But the voters came out in huge numbers.
Interestingly, huge numbers of voters came from Hyderabad today also to vote in AP. They faced problems in transportation but somehow they reached their native places in AP.
Analysts say while YCP tried to reduce poll percentage, TDP made all efforts to increase it. This is indication enough how TDP achieved success in getting higher polling percentage eventually. Naturally, the advantage goes to the TDP.
