YSRCP Demands CCTV Surveillance at Every Polling Booth for Local Body Polls

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has urged the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission to ensure that the upcoming Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. The party has demanded mandatory CCTV surveillance, video recording and webcasting at every polling station, cautioning the authorities against a recurrence of alleged irregularities witnessed during the recent municipal elections.

A delegation headed by YSRCP State General Secretary and MLC Lella Appi Reddy met the State Election Commissioner on Wednesday and submitted a representation seeking stringent safeguards for the forthcoming polls. The delegation included Legal Cell State President Manohar Reddy, Employees and Pensioners' Wing State President Nalamaaru Chandrasekhar Reddy and Grievance Cell President Narayana Murthy.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Appi Reddy accused the coalition government led by Chandrababu Naidu of misusing police and revenue machinery during the municipal elections. He alleged that the electoral process was compromised at several stages, including nominations, scrutiny, polling and counting. According to him, opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations, while some were unfairly disqualified during scrutiny. He also alleged that candidates and party workers faced intimidation and that polling irregularities took place in several areas.

The YSRCP leader further claimed that counting was interrupted in places where his party's candidates were leading and that subsequent recounting was used to change the outcome. He referred to alleged incidents in Eluru, Dhone, Salur, Guntur, Ongole, Nuzvid and Palamaner, besides pointing to discrepancies in polling percentage figures in Ongole and Visakhapatnam.

Appi Reddy demanded that the Election Commission immediately preserve CCTV footage and ballot papers from the counting centres to facilitate scrutiny of the alleged violations. He warned that legal action would be pursued against officials and police personnel found responsible for electoral misconduct. He also called for an end to politically motivated preventive cases, arrests and house arrests.

Meanwhile, Nalamaaru Chandrasekhar Reddy said the party had submitted nearly 15 complaints, along with video evidence stored on pen drives, but had not received any significant response. Questioning recounting in Nandikotkur and Ongole, he said YSRCP candidates had secured substantial leads before the process was initiated.