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TDP leader Peethala Sujatha has accused the YSRCP of intimidating candidates and disrupting local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, alleging targeted attacks against women and Backward Classes.
Andhra Pradesh Women's Cooperative Finance Corporation Chairperson Peethala Sujatha on Wednesday accused the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of resorting to violence and intimidation during the ongoing local body elections, alleging that opposition cadres were attempting to prevent candidates from the NDA alliance from filing their nominations.
Addressing a press conference at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) central office at NTR Bhavan in Mangalagiri, Sujatha alleged that YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was resorting to disruptive tactics out of frustration over the public's support for the alliance government's welfare and development initiatives.
She claimed that individuals described as rowdies and gangsters had been brought from neighbouring States to intimidate alliance candidates. Sujatha further alleged that groups of YSRCP supporters carrying beer bottles, iron rods and hockey sticks had targeted nomination centres, threatening election officials and police personnel.
According to the TDP leader, election rules restrict the number of people allowed inside nomination centres, but large groups were allegedly attempting to enter the premises and disrupt the process.
Sujatha alleged that while the election process was proceeding peacefully in most parts of Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP was deliberately creating disturbances in select areas to project an atmosphere of instability.
She claimed that women and candidates belonging to Backward Classes (BCs) were among those being targeted. The TDP leader said the NDA government's efforts to increase political representation for women and BC communities had unsettled the YSRCP leadership.
Recalling the previous YSRCP government's tenure, Sujatha alleged that TDP leaders had faced house arrests and fabricated criminal cases to prevent them from participating in elections. She also alleged that marijuana had been planted in the homes of party leaders. She contrasted these allegations with what she described as the current government's commitment to conducting elections transparently and in accordance with the law.
The allegations were made by the TDP leader at the press conference. Independent verification of the specific incidents was not available in the press note.
Sujatha also criticised Jagan Mohan Reddy over reported property disputes within his family, contrasting his conduct with the legacy of former Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), whom she credited with championing women's rights to ancestral property.
She alleged that Jagan had wronged his mother and sister in connection with family property disputes and criticised him over the reported differences surrounding his niece's forthcoming wedding.
Describing weddings as occasions that traditionally bring families together and help resolve differences, Sujatha accused the YSRCP chief of allowing property-related disputes to undermine family relationships.
Concluding her address, Sujatha warned that attempts to intimidate candidates would not prevent women and BC communities from exercising their democratic rights.
She asserted that voters would respond to the alleged violence and intimidation through the ballot box, adding that women and BC communities would deliver a political setback to the YSRCP in the ongoing local body elections and future polls.
