YSRCP lodges complaint against Telangana voters registering in AP

YSRCP lodges complaint against Telangana voters registering in AP. On Tuesday, the YSR Congress Party raised a formal complaint regarding the alleged enrollment of Telangana voters in Andhra Pradesh, citing a violation of Section 17 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1950. The act explicitly prohibits an individual from being registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency, and the YSRCP expressed concern over this breach.

A delegation from YSRCP, led by Social Welfare Minister Merugu Nagarjuna, AP Planning Board Vice-Chairman and MLA Malladi Vishnu, and MLC Lella Appi Reddy, submitted a detailed complaint along with supporting evidence to Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Meena at the AP Secretariat in Velagapudi.

Minister Nagarjuna emphasized that this constituted a major violation of electoral norms by the Telugu Desam in Hyderabad, Telangana. He pointed out that the Telugu Desam had initiated an election drive under the banner "Andhra Pradesh New Voter Registration & Voter Verification Drive" immediately after the Telangana election results were declared.

Nagarjuna alleged that voters who had recently participated in the Telangana elections were being enticed to illegally enroll as new voters in Andhra Pradesh. Displaying photographs of the Telugu Desam's voter registration campaign, he highlighted the explicit involvement of TD leaders, questioning how a political party could openly engage in the activity of enrolling Telangana voters in Andhra Pradesh electoral rolls.

Malladi Vishnu expressed the YSRCP's appeal to the Election Commission, urging preventive measures against such illegal practices. He called for the issuance of necessary directions to all District Electoral Officers (DEOs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to meticulously verify all Form 6 submissions in accordance with election commission rules before acceptance.

MLC Appi Reddy took the opportunity to address the former election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar's unfounded accusations against Volunteers. He affirmed that the YSRCP government did not utilize Volunteer services in the election process and suggested that Ramesh Kumar consider joining the Telugu Desam. Appi Reddy urged the election commission to uphold voting rights based on residency and to refrain from granting voting rights to Telangana voters in Andhra Pradesh.