Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working President K T Rama Rao on Sunday said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu was raising doubts about electronic voting machines (EVMs) out of fear of losing the elections.
Reacting to Naidu leading a campaign along with some other parties against the EVMs, KTR wondered how Naidu, who had won the 2014 elections with EVMs, could now be saying that these can be tampered with.
Angry over the malfunctioning of the EVMs during the April 11 voting in Andhra Pradesh, Naidu has slammed the Election Commission, claiming that the voting machines can be manipulated, and has demanded that the poll body revert to the system of paper ballots.
Asked for a response, KTR said that there was no scope for tampering with the EVMs, and remarked that if this had happened, people would have revolted.
KTR, who is the son of TRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, said Chandrababu Naidu should stop playing "cheap" politics. He said fear had gripped the TDP chief when the Election Commission ordered the transfer of officials close to him.
The TRS leader said Naidu's panic clearly showed that he was on his way out.
When asked about the functioning of the Election Commission, the TRS leader said while he had no right to point fingers at the poll body.
He also said that while the smooth and peaceful conduct of the elections in Telangana reflects the governance in the state, the violence and chaos during polling in Andhra Pradesh indicate the quality of governance in the latter.
KTR exuded confidence that TRS would win 16 out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, while its ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will retain Hyderabad. He also predicted that BJP and Congress will both lose their deposits in a few constituencies.
He reiterated that a coalition government will be formed at the Centre and the regional parties would play a key role in its formation.