Fear of defeat behind YSRCP attacks: Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati: TDP national president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday accused the YSRCP leaders of resorting to deliberate attacks on the TDP cadres as they were afraid of losing elections if the municipal polls were held in a free and fair manner in the state.

Naidu said that the ruling party leaders were issuing threats to the TDP contesting candidates and voters in order to win the civic polls in an unfair manner. TNSF (Telugu Nadu Student Federation) president Pranav Gopal and MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu visited AU High School polling booth on hearing about rigging. However, the police arrested them without valid reasons, he said.

In a statement here, the TDP chief decried the misuse of the official machinery and the police force in a very indiscriminate manner by the YSRCP leaders.

They were doing this to create a fear psychosis among the rival parties and the candidates. In the 13th division in Machilipatnam, the YSRCP activists brandished knives and attacked TDP sympathiser Dinakar.

It was only out of fear of facing defeat in the polls that the YSRCP was resorting to such cowardly attacks.

The TDP chief demanded the police to explain how they could prevent a TDP activist from entering the polling booth in Nayudupeta in Nellore district just because he was wearing the party yellow colour shirt.

At the same time, the police were not taking any action and just watching like silent spectators when the YSRCP leaders were resorting to the election violations without any fear of the code or the law.

Naidu appealed to the State Election Commission (SEC) to take stringent action against the conniving officials and the erring YSRCP leaders. It was the duty of the SEC to punish the culprits responsible for the election violations and ensure a democratic polling process.