The ongoing row over the alleged misuse of data between the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and opposition YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh reached New Delhi, with a TDP delegation calling on the Election Commission of India.
A day after the ECI announced the election schedule, the TDP delegation submitted a representation to Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Aurora and alleged that the YSRCP had stolen its data with the help of the Telangana government, which is presently led by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The TDP also sought action against YSRCP and the TRS.
The TDP delegation included state ministers Kalava Srinivasulu and Nakka Anand Babu, along with TDP MPs K Rammohan Rao and K Ravindra Kumar.
"We have requested the CEC to act on the misuse of Form 7 and take action against YSRCP which has sought deleting of eligible voters from the electoral rolls,” Srinivasulu told reporters.
“It appears that some of these applications were submitted online from outside the state of Andhra Pradesh,” he added, hinting that the TRS government was helping the YSRCP.
Alleging that the TDP was creating 'bogus voters', the YSRCP has been filing Form-7s requesting their deletion en masse. They have also approached the Election Commission of India claiming that Andhra Pradesh has 59 lakh bogus voters.
Jagan has also accused the CM Chandrababu Naidu of adding bogus voters in support of TDP and deleting the voters in favour of YSRCP.
Tension has also been brewing between the TDP and the YSRCP over a data breach allegation concerning over 3 crore people.
Earlier this month, following a complaint from Lokeshwar Reddy, a data analyst, who alleged that the TDP had given ‘illegal access’ of the data of as many as 3.5 crore voters in the state to a company called IT Grids Pvt Ltd, the Telangana police filed a case and subsequently formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Reddy alleged that Seva Mitra, the TDP’s official app, which was designed by IT Grids, had procured the data of the individuals and profiled voters to improve the ruling party’s chances in the upcoming Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.