Naidu and YSRCP trade charges of violence and obstructed nominations in Andhra Pradesh’s local body polls

The fight over Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections reached the press room on Saturday, 24 October, when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and senior YSRCP leader Ambati Rambabu each laid out their charges. The accusations below are the speakers\u{2019} own.

The Chief Minister’s case

Speaking at his camp office in Undavalli, Naidu accused the YSRCP of criminal politics and of using violence to disrupt the polls. He named disturbances at Punganur, Darsi, Kadapa, Thamballapalle and Tirupati. He alleged that a YSRCP MP ran over NDA workers, that a Janasena office was targeted in Thamballapalle, and that YSRCP activists seized nomination papers at a nomination centre in Kanigiri.

He also said the party spreads false propaganda, and that Jagan Mohan Reddy uses his own media outlet to tarnish the state’s image. He cited the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and illegal-assets cases against Jagan.

The YSRCP’s reply

At his camp office in Guntur, Rambabu said the TDP-led government, the police and the State Election Commission were working together to undermine democracy. He alleged that YSRCP candidates were stopped from filing nominations and that some papers were torn in front of the police. He said opposition leaders, among them Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, Bolla Brahma Naidu and Namburi Shankara Rao, were placed under house arrest, and that the party has identified 54 police officials, including IPS officers, for alleged electoral irregularities and will take legal action.