With just a few hours to go for polling in Andhra Pradesh, the stakes for YSR Congress seem to be very high. For both the Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP, it is a do or die election. Locked in such a battle, the YSR Congress along with the BJP and the TRS has been trying its best to ensure that the TDP is attacked on multiple fronts.
On one hand, there are confirmed reports of Telangana government and private bus operators cancelling tickets of people travelling to Andhra Pradesh. Some incidents of law and order disturbance across AP have been reported after YSRCP activists indulged in a clash with TDP karyakartas. Similarly, netizens are reporting several practices which are creating doubts on free and fair election process in AP.
According to sources, TDP’s booth agents could be targeted by the rival party in Andhra Pradesh in order to manipulate voting. “The Election Commission is working in favour of YSRCP and is hoping to manipulate EVMs once the voting closes tomorrow at 5 pm. In the meantime, YSRCP also plans to create law and order disturbance in the state,” said an activist who requested anonymity.
“They say that the Governor could be intimated about these law and order disturbances to make it look like the state needs to have President’s rule. There could be President’s rule imposed and manipulation of EVMs can easily take place in such a situation,” the activist adds, stating that some YSRCP activists are also creating fake finger masks so that they can re-vote any number of times.
Fake finger masks and liquid to wipe off vote ink is also being procured in large quantities to ensure that one voter can vote multiple times, on behalf of those abstaining from voting. May citizens are expressing their concern on the ways and means of Election Commission’s behaviour and seem quite worried about the outcome of the elections in Andhra Pradesh.