VIJAYAWADA: Accusing the Election Commission (EC) of failing miserably to conduct elections in a smooth manner and putting the voters to a lot of inconvenience, Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu lodged a complaint with the Election Commission demanding extension of poll timing across 30 per cent polling stations claiming that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) remained dysfunctional for hours.
He also appealed to voters to exercise their franchise as it would decide the future of the State for next five years.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the preparedness of the EC for holding elections across the State in a single phase on Thursday, Naidu claimed that scores of voters who formed queues to cast their votes were forced to leave the polling stations due to delay in the commencement polling and breakdown of EVMs.
Conveying his regret for the ‘inconvenience’ caused to the voters, Chandrababu Naidu appealed to the people to stand in queue lines any time before 6 pm as every voter who reached their respective polling booths would be allowed to cast their vote.
“This election is very crucial for our State. Every vote is important for the future of our State and will be the base for future generations,’’ Naidu maintained in a series of releases and also in a video message. Later, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi rejected the demand for re-polling and clarified that any decision in this regard would be taken by the Election Commission after scrutiny of the reports submitted by returning officers.
“There is an established procedure to be followed for re-polling,” he said. Resenting the ‘attitude’ of the election officials, Telugu Desam Party general secretary and IT Minister Nara Lokesh staged a dharna at the Christianpet polling station in Tadepalli under the limits of Mangalagiri constituency on Thursday evening.