SNCN ACHARYULU
The TDP has lost the support of 70 lakh Andhra Pradesh voters with just one decision. The TDP’s move on volunteers has become a big boon for the ruling YSR Congress.
After the TDP’s complaint, the Election Commission issued orders barring village and ward volunteers from distributing social welfare benefits. For the last four years, beneficiaries have been getting pensions at their doorstep through these volunteers. Now this has been stopped by the Election Commission after the TDP’s complaint.
The beneficiaries will now have to go to village secretariats to get pensions. Till June, the beneficiaries have to go to secretariats to get their pensions in the hot summer.
In Andhra Pradesh, there are about 66 lakh beneficiaries and over 2.6 lakh village and ward volunteers. After the TDP’s complaint, the social welfare beneficiaries are now angry with the TDP. Due to the TDP, they are now unable to get pensions at their doorstep and the TDP has lost the support of 66 lakh voters.
The TDP in another complaint to the Election Commission said that the volunteers are campaigning for the YSR Congress and requested the ECI to ask them not to campaign. Accordingly, the ECI barred the volunteers from campaigning.
With this, volunteers across the state are submitting mass resignations and are becoming the YSRCP’s army as alleged by the TDP. This means the TDP has lost the support of another 2.6 lakh voters.
Every volunteer is in regular touch with 50 families for the last four years and can influence these families to support the YSRCP. That means the TDP may lose the support of lakhs of voters.
The YSRCP is utilising this opportunity to turn people against the TDP. The YSRCP is pointing out that due to the TDP, the beneficiaries have lost the opportunity to get their pension at their doorstep and in the hot summer senior citizens have to go to secretariats to get pensions.
The YSRCP is also campaigning that if the TDP comes to power it may stop pensions and even if it gives the beneficiaries will have to go to far away offices every month to get pensions.
The village volunteer system introduced by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy attracted attention across the nation and some states have adopted the system.
Earlier, TDP supremo Chandrababu and his son Lokesh made offensive remarks against the volunteers. Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan also made allegations against the volunteers and said that thousands of girls have gone missing and expressed doubts about the role of volunteers in it.
