YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has challenged the Election Commission to ensure that genuine YSRCP candidates are allowed to file nominations for Andhra Pradesh’s ongoing local body elections, alleging that some candidates were being obstructed from entering the contest.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Jagan said the party would submit its complete candidate list, along with the A and B forms issued to its nominees, to the Election Commission. He said the party would seek the poll authority’s intervention to ensure that eligible candidates were allowed to contest.
The A and B forms are used by recognised political parties to communicate the names of authorised candidates and party nominees to election officials. Jagan said the YSRCP would rely on these documents while asking the Commission to examine whether its candidates had been prevented from filing their nominations.
He also said the party was prepared to approach the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the Supreme Court, if necessary, to secure what he described as justice for its candidates. The statement places the dispute within the broader question of how nomination procedures are administered during local elections and how complaints are handled when parties allege that their nominees have been denied access to the process.
Jagan questioned the TDP-led coalition government headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, saying the ruling party should seek votes by presenting its achievements if it had worked for the people. He alleged that preventing candidates from filing nominations would undermine the electoral process.
“Is it democracy to prevent candidates from filing nominations and conduct elections with fake nominations?” Jagan asked.
He urged the Election Commission to uphold fairness and conduct the elections transparently, including by allowing what the party described as genuine candidates to contest. The YSRCP’s allegations, as reported, have not been accompanied by details of the number of candidates affected, the locations where the alleged obstruction occurred or the specific actions taken by election officials.
The supplied report does not include a response from the Election Commission, the state government or the TDP-led coalition to the allegations. The next step identified by the YSRCP is to submit its candidate list and party forms to the Commission and seek action on the nominations.
