YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy expressed deep anger over the conduct of the Pulivendula and Ontimitta ZPTC by-elections in Kadapa and Rajampet districts amid rigging and threats, and demanded that these two by-elections be canceled and re-elections be held there.
He has lashed out at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of turning Andhra Pradesh into a “state ruled by rowdies” and murdering democracy. In a series of posts on social media platform X on Tuesday, Jagan alleged large-scale irregularities in the Pulivendula and Ontimitta ZPTC by-elections.
He claimed that Chandrababu, “behaving like a goonda,” misused his position as CM, manipulated officials and police, and hijacked the elections like a “terrorist operation” just to grab two minor ZPTC seats. “This is a black day for democracy,” he said.
Jagan said that while Chandrababu Naidu was in power, it was once again proven that democracy in the state was just a sham, that the constitution, law, justice, morality, rules, and democratic practices in this state were just empty words, and that the institutions were just a figment of the imagination.
He recalled that it has been the practice since the past to conduct polling in the same village for voters in any election, but he alleged that as per Chandrababu’s orders, the polling booths in several villages under Pulivendula ZPTC have been shifted to different places, moving them to a distance of 2 km and 4 km.
On the other hand, he alleged that since the previous night, about 200 TDP members from outside areas have freely entered each village where elections are being held. He lamented that hundreds of TDP supporters from outside villages entered polling areas, blocked local voters, seized voter slips, and cast bogus votes.
Jaganmohan Reddy deplored that YSRCP agents were attacked and prevented from sitting in booths, and even women agents faced assaults. He accused that senior police officers, including DSPs and CIs, allegedly acted as silent spectators or actively aided TDP members. He also accused a DIG, who is a relative of a former TDP MP, of encouraging election violations while wearing a party scarf.
Recalling the 2017 Nandyal bypoll, where he alleged similar large-scale rigging, Jagan said the people eventually responded in 2019 with a massive mandate for YSRCP. He predicted a similar backlash in Pulivendula and across the state in the future.
