metro india news  I amaravati

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday unleashed a blistering political attack, accusing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of maintaining a “strategic silence” on the “largest electoral fraud in Indian history”, the alleged vote manipulation during the 2024 AP Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Jagan claimed that before polling and after counting, there was a 12.5% jump in votes, roughly 48 lakh ballots, which he said was evidence of massive manipulation. “This scale of discrepancy hasn’t happened in any other state. Rahul Gandhi shouts from rooftops about vote theft elsewhere, but when it comes to Andhra Pradesh, his lips are sealed. Why?” Jagan questioned.

Referring to the Pulivendula ZPTC and Ontimitta local body by-elections held on Tuesday, Jagan alleged they were a “staged drama” to keep YSRCP out of the contest. He claimed that YSRCP polling agents were forcibly removed from all 15 booths in Pulivendula, with Form-12 authorisations snatched and destroyed. He said that outsiders allegedly brought in by TDP and protected by police cast bulk bogus votes.

Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy also alleged that polling centres were manipulated where voter booths were shifted to distant villages to force voters to walk 4-5 km, exposing them to intimidation and attacks.“Around 700 police personnel were deployed not for security but to scare voters and facilitate TDP’s plan. TDP cadres allegedly camped overnight in villages, with 400 people stationed per booth to control voting,” he added.

Jagan also named senior police officials, accusing them of acting as TDP agents in uniform including DIG Koya Praveen, whom he called a ‘mafia leader’ linked to TDP ex-MP Garikapati Mohan Rao. He alleged that these officers were involved in everything from liquor rackets to illegal mining, extortion from industries, and even intimidation of elected representatives.

Issuing a direct challenge, Jagan told Chandrababu to cancel these elections and conduct fresh polls under central forces. “Give us the booth webcasting footage and CCTV recordings – we will show the world how democracy was butchered.” He further described Chandrababu as “a mobster and a fraudster,” adding, “Leaders who indulge in such daylight political robbery are not statesmen – they are predators of democracy.”

Jagan alleged a political nexus, a ‘Hotline’ connection between Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Rahul Gandhi, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, whom he described as the bridge connecting Naidu and Gandhi.

“Through Revanth Reddy, Chandrababu is in direct hotline touch with Rahul Gandhi. This is why the AP Congress in-charge, Manikyam Tagore, never dares to criticise Chandrababu, no matter the scams, corruption, or criminal conspiracies happening here. Their agenda is clear: protect each other, attack YSRCP,” Jagan alleged.

He claimed the Congress leadership in Andhra Pradesh deliberately ignores issues such as the mushrooming of belt shops, rampant liquor syndicates, sand and mineral mafia, and massive land scams in Amaravati. “They turn a blind eye even when the cost of Amaravati construction shoots to Rs.10,000 per square foot, higher than Chennai or Bengaluru, or when prime lands are handed over to corporates like Lulu Group in sweetheart deals. Is this not corruption?” Jagan asked.

Jagan accused Rahul Gandhi of double standards. “Rahul accuses BJP and the Election Commission of collusion in other states, but when AP witnesses the biggest ever EVM irregularities, he is silent. Why? Because there is a political deal. The hotline link with Chandrababu via Revanth is the reason,” he charged.

He also questioned why Rahul, while raising the Kejriwal defeat in Delhi, never mentions Andhra Pradesh’s election irregularities. “AP had the worst electoral malpractice in the country, yet Congress chooses to protect TDP, not question it,” Jagan said.

The YSRCP chief warned that continued abuse of democratic processes could lead to a dangerous erosion of public trust and even fuel extremist tendencies. “You are planting the seeds of a dangerous future. These could be your last elections if you continue down this path,” he cautioned.

Jagan said his party would soon move court with photographic and video evidence of vote rigging, seeking annulment of the by-election results and demanding that future polls be conducted under central paramilitary supervision. “Democracy in Andhra Pradesh has been murdered in broad daylight. The silence of Congress is proof of their complicity. This unholy alliance will be exposed booth by booth, vote by vote,” Jagan concluded.