EC Mulls Simultaneous Polls in Andhra, T’gana to Curb Voter Fraud
YSRCP said only single-day balloting in the two Telugu states can prevent possible double-voting.
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The YSR Congress has requested the Election Commission (EC) to hold the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in a single phase, on the same day, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to check voter fraud.
The party said that only single-day balloting in the two Telugu states can prevent possible double-voting by a large number of people, who belong to Andhra Pradesh but live and work in Telangana, Hindustan Times reported.
Telangana chief electoral officer Rajat Kumar said on Wednesday, 20 February, that he had written to the EC to inquire about the possibility of holding simultaneous polls, the report added.
“The conduct of polls simultaneously in both states on the same day would avoid a lot of expenditure, apart from addressing the concerns of parties on duplication of votes in both states,” Kumar said.
‘59 Lakh Fake Voters’
Ahead of an EC team’s visit to Andhra Pradesh to audit the state voter list on Thursday, the YSR Congress had intensified its attack on the ruling TDP, claiming that over 59 lakh fake voters had been added to the list at its behest.
Out of the total 3.69 crore names on state voter rolls, over 59 lakh (16 percent) are invalid or duplicate, the YSRCP said and alleged that the TDP government was doing everything in its power to subvert democracy and steal the elections, IANS reported.
The party also released a detailed survey pointing out 59,18,631 voters under 12 different categories, such as duplicate, illegal, invalid, bogus and demographically similar entries. It said the number of such voters was 52.7 lakh in September 2018.
YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had on 4 February met the Chief Election Commissioner to bring to his notice discrepancies in the state voter list and requested him to intervene in the matter to ensure free and fair elections.
The high court has sought a clarification from the Election Commission in the matter after an audit of the list.
(With inputs from IANS, Hindustan Times)
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