Polling Agents Were Prevented from Entering Booths, Jagan Slams Ruling Alliance

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the ruling alliance of resorting to intimidation and rigging during the local body elections. Speaking to reporters outside his residence in Bhakarapuram on Sunday, he alleged that YSRCP polling agents were prevented from entering polling booths not only in Pulivendula but also in Kadapa, Jammalamadugu, Macherla, Tadipatri and Kuppam. He claimed that TDP leaders had occupied polling stations from early morning and that voters were being turned away on the grounds that their votes had already been cast. Jagan also accused officials and police personnel of supporting the ruling alliance. He said his party was choosing peaceful, Gandhian protests to protect democracy and asserted that he would not back down even if the police resorted to a lathi-charge against him.

Jagan also alleged that Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, who served as the State Election Commissioner during the previous YSRCP government, was sympathetic to the TDP. He claimed that the current elections were not being conducted in a free and fair atmosphere and accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of avoiding a genuine electoral contest. Jagan further alleged that police were using force against YSRCP workers and polling agents, detaining party leaders in advance and forcibly taking away councillor candidate Kalandar. He also claimed that media personnel had been attacked. Responding to the developments in a post on X, Jagan alleged that the state's electoral system had collapsed under Chandrababu Naidu's watch and that democratic institutions had been hijacked. He described the polls as selections rather than elections.