PNS | Vijayawada
A delegation of prominent YSRCP leaders, including former ministers Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) and Vellampalli Srinivas, along with MLAs Malladi Vishnu, Kayla Anil Kumar, and MLC Monditoka Arun Kumar, met with State Chief Election Officer (CEO), Mukesh Kumar Meena, to voice concerns regarding irregularities in the voter list. The leaders claimed that numerous irregularities, including duplicate votes and discrepancies in photo, name, and voter ID combinations, had been identified in many areas.
They emphasised the party’s stance on ensuring that each individual is entitled to only one vote, criticising the existence of votes beyond that limit.
Addressing the media at the Andhra Pradesh secretariat following the meeting, Perni Nani asserted that fake and bogus votes had been introduced into the voter list during the previous TDP government’s tenure. He accused figures like Ramoji Rao, Radha Krishan, and leaders from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of making unfounded allegations against the YSRCP government regarding the voter list. Nani mentioned that a BJP leader from Telangana had also joined the opposition camp, baselessly claiming that 10,000 votes had been added in each constituency.
MLA Nani presented statistical evidence, revealing that there were 3,98,34,776 voters in January 2019, but by January 2023, the number had dropped to 3,97,96,678. Such a decrease in the total number of voters, he argued, was highly irregular. Nani explained that they had appealed to the CEO to rectify these anomalies in the voter list, having also made a similar appeal in Delhi. He stressed the importance of linking voter cards with Aadhaar cards for enhanced authentication.
Nani went on to reveal that YSRCP had identified 59 lakh votes with minor discrepancies in name and address before the 2019 elections, leading to a complaint lodged with the Election Commission. In 2023, with changes in name, address, and photo, 40 lakh votes were identified, out of which 16.59 lakh were linked to individuals in Telangana and Andhra. The YSRCP leaders urged the CEO to conduct a comprehensive investigation into these irregularities and to revise the voter list accordingly.
Furthermore, Nani emphasised their demand to link every voter card with Aadhaar to eradicate bogus votes, ensuring that each person could exercise their right to vote only once. The CEO reportedly responded positively to their appeal and assured that the matter would be brought to the attention of the Central Election Commission.
Nani also pointed out discrepancies in voter numbers in various areas, citing examples such as 9242 houses with 20 to 30 votes, 2643 houses with 31 to 40 votes, and some areas with 200 to 500 votes in 96 houses. He highlighted a particularly extreme case where 500 votes were associated with a single door number in the 2019 voter list for Suryaraopet in Vijayawada. Nani alleged that such irregularities were the result of TDP actions and accused the party of falsely blaming the ruling YSRCP government.
Nani asserted that the problems with the 2019 voter lists were going on and called for the correction of these errors. He criticised Chandrababu Naidu’s alleged habit of adding bogus votes and attempting to win through questionable means instead of earning the people’s trust. Nani also strongly criticized BJP leader Bandi Sanjay from Telangana for his critical stance against the YSRCP, insinuating that he was engaged in partisan politics on behalf of Chandrababu Naidu.
