“Thousands of people were brought in from neighboring districts to cast false votes in Tirupati bypoll.”
The TDP President and former Minister K. Atchannaidu has called on the leadership of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to take an oath in the temple of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala that the YSRCP will not hold false votes in the Tirupati Lok Sabha Bypoll and in the TDP- Will has carried out accept defeat.
At a media conference here on Monday, he asked the DGP, the Nellore collector and returnees, Peddireddy Ramchanadra Reddy, Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy and the Chief Minister to take an oath in Tirumala on the matter. He recalled that at the time of the election notification, Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed that the YSRCP candidate would win by a majority of over 5 lakh. After the TDP leaders began campaigning in Tirupati, the party received tremendous support.
Claiming that YSRCP ministers and leaders were getting nervous with the TDP’s growing support, he devised a plan to limit the party’s chances of winning. Thousands of people had been brought in from neighboring districts to cast false votes in the Bypoll, he claimed. They were caught in the act, but the YSRCP ministers and leaders tried to blame the TDP for the bogus vote, Atchannaidu alleged.
He claimed that for every 10 real votes, 40 fake votes were cast in by-poll. The scammers were brought in buses from other districts, and after the TDP filed a complaint with officers and police, the DGP said that 250 buses were coming from other districts and they were being sent back. He wondered why the police were sending the buses back instead of detaining the wrong voters and confiscating the buses.
He said the TDP presented evidence of the sham vote and even complained to the Indian Electoral Commission (ECI), State Electoral Commission (SEC) and the returnees, but no action has yet been taken. He called for the ECI to take action that would cause people to lose confidence in democracy.
The TDP chairman also denied the chief minister’s claim that the YSRCP had popular support, adding that in the case, only 64% of voters turned up to cast their vote.