Telangana Elections Peaceful: CEO

Hyderabad: Telangana elections peaceful said CEO Rajat Kumar post the elections despite few incidents. But a few cases are surfacing now. According to the State Election Commission, Jennapalli Narsimhareddy (EPIC No. AP 322220351542) cast his vote at the Zilla Parishad High School, Chinnakistapur, polling station in Gajwel Assembly constituency on December 7.  But it came into light that the man has been dead for about three-and-a-half years. The irony is that VVPAT slips were issued in the names of the dead, missing those who are still alive!

The family of Narsimhareddy said that he had passed away in March 2016. The District Election Commission was told on three occasions to take his name off the voter’s list, yet, 32 months post his death, a voter slip was issued in his name.Way ahead of the polls in Telangana, 30 civil society organizations came together under the banner of Telangana Election Watch 2018 and worked with the Election Commission as election watch officers. The officers' job was to keep a watch on violations, in the election. Members of this non-government organization worked as election watchers in each district, and their report showed that the situation was unsatisfactory.

In another instance of misconduct, a polling booth officer K. Ramesh was caught with voter IDs of 200 voters. In Khammam Assembly constituency, TRS candidate Puvvada Ajay Kumar owns a Medical College, and made students to cast votes on behalf of the dead, or those who moved shifted or were absent. TDP Khammam candidate Nama Nageshwar Rao was caught on video questioning the block development officer for holding back a student possessing a voter’s slip which was not in her name.

In Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, an elderly voter was accompanied by a block development officer. when she asked to press the ‘Cycle’ symbol of the Telugu Desam, the officer caught her finger and made her press the ‘Car’ symbol button of the TRS.According to the election watch body “In several districts, there was a defective voter’s list. Even after complaints were reported, but no attempt was made to correct the list. The ground staff brought in to work was not competent enough to do the job. Monetary benefits, liquor, and other gifts played a big role in elections,” the report said.
There are even reports saying the measures taken by the officials to control the flow of money was not satisfactory. It is reported that about Rs 140 crore under transit is seized but it is a tip of the iceberg.”

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