HYDERABAD: Alleging that the Congress used every “illegal method” in an attempt to win the Jubilee Hills byelection, the BRS leaders on Tuesday expressed confidence in their candidate securing the seat despite the “large-scale irregularities” committed by the ruling party.
Right after the poll process ended in the evening, BRS leaders launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his government, alleging large-scale irregularities and misuse of power. Speaking to reporters, BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan claimed that the bypoll was conducted in a manner reminiscent of elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
“Votes were bought for as much as Rs 10,000 and saris distributed to thousands,” he said, describing the practice as “murder of the Constitution”. Sravan said that the Congress resorted to violence, intimidation and bogus voting, while the Election Commission “turned a blind eye” to over 20 complaints.
Former minister Koppula Eshwar said that he had never witnessed such large-scale electoral violations, alleging that police and polling staff aided bogus voting. He claimed that residents of apartment complexes were threatened and polling agents intimidated.
BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar accused the chief minister of orchestrating the irregularities months in advance and adding 20,000 fake voters to the rolls. He said even minors were made to vote and that the C-Vigil app failed during polling.