Allegations of Candidate Exclusion and Police Bias Raised in Andhra Pradesh Election Talk

During a high‑profile meeting with Governor S. Abdul Nazeer in Vijayawada, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy outlined what he described as a series of anti‑democratic actions by the incumbent alliance ahead of the state's municipal elections. Reddy asserted that the ruling coalition was deliberately blocking opposition candidates from submitting nomination forms, while allowing supporters of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to enter filing centres and even launch attacks on YSRCP aspirants.

The former chief minister stressed that police personnel were acting with a bias toward the coalition, turning a blind eye to violence against YSRCP candidates and, in some instances, allegedly opening fire on them. He cited the experience of YSRCP MPs Avinash Reddy, P. Mithun Reddy, and Gurumurthy, who faced hostility at nomination points, and mentioned that serious criminal cases have been registered against opposition candidates.

Reddy pointed out that eight locations reported zero valid nominations, and only 36 percent of applications were processed in 19 other areas. He highlighted Pulivendula’s situation, where only 19 of the 36 wards succeeded in filing nomination papers. The leader warned that these incidents constitute a concerted effort to marginalize YSRCP workers and impede their electoral participation. He urged the governor to order central security forces and install CCTV cameras to monitor all election‑related activities, insisting that every citizen must be allowed to contest elections without fear or obstruction.