VIJAYAWADA: Former Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting with party leaders from several districts on Wednesday to evaluate the party’s performance in the recently held local body elections, lauding the cadre for fighting with determination despite widespread intimidation and administrative manipulation.
Asserting that the public witnessed Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s misuse of power, Jagan claimed that YSRCP’s vote share actually increased compared to the 2024 general elections despite irregularities spanning from the schedule announcement to the final vote counting.
Had the polls been conducted fairly, the party would have secured a substantially higher margin, he maintained, adding that the ruling coalition resorted to malpractice to conceal its declining public popularity.
Accusing Naidu of introducing novel methods of electoral manipulation, including overturning verified YSRCP victories, Jagan dismissed attempts to justify the abuses by citing past polls.
“After committing such widespread electoral abuses, attempts to lecture others on democracy are astonishing,” he remarked. District party leaders narrated their experiences in the local polls.