A delegation of the BJP, comprising State party affairs co-in-charge Sunil Deodhar, national secretary Y. Satya Kumar and Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra in New Delhi on Wednesday, and appealed to him to order deputation of Central armed forces for election duty in Badvel (SC) Assembly constituency.
The BJP leaders also urged Mr. Sushil Chandra to take steps for ensuring peaceful election keeping in view Tuesday’s attacks on the TDP offices across the State and the alleged complicity of the police in the incidents.
“The CEC is empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution to issue orders to ensure a level-playing field between the contesting parties and the candidates,” they observed.
In a memorandum submitted to the CEC, the BJP leaders said the attacks created a sense of fear and insecurity all over the State, and that violence was unleashed to scare away the voters who were not sympathetic to the ruling YSRCP.
They also apprehended a threat to the lives of the BJP leaders, including its candidate in the by-election, and the agents engaged in the election campaign.
The BJP delegation insisted that the CEC should send special, general and expenditure observers, and direct the ward and village volunteers to leave the constituency (lest they should influence the voters).
‘Scope for malpractices’
They further said that Badvel, which is situated in Kadapa district from where the Chief Minister hails, was a highly sensitive constituency, where there was scope for intimidation of the voters, bogus voting, violence and large-scale electoral malpractices.
The YSRCP leaders and volunteers were threatening the voters that the social security benefits being given by the government would be discontinued if they did not vote for the ruling party, the BJP leaders alleged.
During the State party president Somu Veerraju’s visit to Badvel and Porumamilla mandals on October 3 and 4, the voters had complained about the strong-arm tactics of the YSRCP leaders and attempts to bribe them for votes, the BJP leaders told the CEC.
The CEC should ensure that the by-election was held in a fair and peaceful manner, the BJP leaders said.
