Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who air-dashed to New Delhi on Saturday morning met the Chief Election Commission officials and lodged his protest against malfunctioning of EVMs in his home state, where polls were conducted in the phase on April 11.
Later speaking newsmen, he was disappointed with the malfunctioning of about 30 per cent of EVMs in the state. He also accused the local Election official had also failed miserably in ensuring smooth conduct of polls. He said he will not give up his fight against the miserable failure of the Election Commission to conduct ‘free and fair polls’, in the first phase, especially in his state.
Naidu, who was accompanied by his senior party colleagues, including Galla Jaydev, who is seeking re-election from Guntur district, also expressed displeasure over the election machinery’s failure to ensure law and order in place, citing the wide-spread violence that broke out in many parts of the state. “If this is not failure of the state machinery under the control of the Election officials, then what else can be?” he asked.
He said he would be meeting other friendly party leaders, who were also apprehensive of the EVMs, which can be tampered, to bring pressure on the CEC. However, he did not elaborate, what meant for taking his ‘fight to the logical conclusion.’
On polling day, furious Naidu claimed that he was not sure that the vote he cast has gone to his party or not. He reiterates that the technology is being misused by Modi government to win elections and the Election Commission, instead of functioning as an independent Constitutional body is functioning as ruling party’s extension office.
“Never before the Election Commission has failed so miserably and acted in partisan manner. It had also credibility among people, he alleged.
On polling day, violence broke out in faction-ridden Ananthapur, where the YSRCP and TDP workers clashed, resulting in two succumbing to injuries. In another ugly incident in politically volatile Guntur district, the state Speaker Dr K Kodela Sivaprasad Rao, was also roughed up, near a polling booth.