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In an attempt to counter the allegations of violence and misconduct by members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) during the nomination process for local body polls in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched a scathing attack on YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He even made a personal attack against Jagan, calling him “destructive” for denying permission to use a family property to host his niece’s wedding over security concerns. Naidu said Jagan had failed both as a Chief Minister and a brother, and that he had no ‘family values’.
Over the past few days, the opposition YSRCP had alleged that many of their party candidates were not allowed to file nominations for the urban local bodies, MPTC and ZPTC polls, owing to threats, intimidation and violence from TDP members. The party has shared visuals of purported TDP members snatching and tearing nomination papers from YSRCP candidates, despite the presence of police personnel and election officials. The visuals have sparked strong criticism from across the country over the conduct of local body polls in Andhra Pradesh.
The Supreme Court had earlier halted the election process for urban local bodies and asked the State Election Commission (SEC) to examine the opposition’s complaints of violence. The SEC found that YSRCP candidates faced obstructions in at least four places and extended the nomination process for those municipal bodies, postponing the polling date accordingly.
Naidu, however, denied the allegations against TDP members. However, he suggested it was normal for TDP members to be enraged to see YSRCP members who had tried to stop them from filing nominations last time, when YSRCP was in power. “We are all human beings. Last time in that village, these [YSRCP] members would’ve assaulted TDP members when they went to file nominations. Now the same YSRCP members are brought in cars to file nominations. Won’t their hearts burn? Can they tolerate it? But such things are inevitable in a democracy,” he said.
The CM went on to allege that YSRCP had approached the Supreme Court with false claims of violence. He alleged that the YSRCP’s sole agenda was to prevent local body elections and its leaders were resorting to violence to obstruct the democratic process.
Referring to the previous local body polls held in 2021 when YSRCP was in power, Naidu questioned how all 33 seats in Pulivendula, Jagan’s constituency and his party’s stronghold, were elected unanimously. He also mentioned that 79% of MPTC seats and 76% of ZPTC seats in Kadapa district had been won unanimously in the last local body polls, accusing Jagan of double standards.
Naidu claimed that TDP workers had been targeted in attacks in the past and present, alleging that YSRCP members were attacking TDP workers and subsequently portraying themselves as victims. He maintained that the police had provided adequate security to YSRCP candidates to file their nominations.
Naidu also made a personal attack against Jagan, criticising him for denying permission to his sister and state Congress chief YS Sharmila for using their family property in Bengaluru, Yelahanka Palace, to host her daughter’s wedding. YSRCP has said that Jagan had communicated to Sharmila that the house cannot be used as the wedding venue out of security concerns, amid an ongoing property dispute between the siblings.
“You may ask why I am getting into their family matters. But I say this to show how [Jagan’s] mindset is turning dangerous for the state. He is destructive in both his family life and public life,” Naidu alleged, calling Jagan ‘Kamsa mama’, a mythological tyrant king and uncle of the god Krishna who tried to have his nephew killed.
