Hyderabad: The BJP has put the blame on TRS government and the State Election Commission in Telangana for the low turnout in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Home, G. Kishan Reddy, claimed that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government utilized the State Election Commission (SEC) to bring down the voter turnout to work for its advantage.
Speaking at a news conference alongside state BJP president Bandi Sanjay after the polling, Reddy said the government must be ashamed of the low turnout for the corporation elections.
He claimed that instead of battling for triumph, the TRS focused on ways to defeat the BJP. He said he can’t blame the educated and the intellectual people for not coming out in huge numbers to cast a vote.
Reddy stated afraid of a repetition of the Dubbak by-poll outcome, the TRS held the GHMC polls in a hurry. He said voters were hesitant to come out in huge numbers fearing a second wave of the pandemic.
The Central minister likewise alleged that MIM indulged in large scale rigging in the old city and said the police and election authorities remained silent spectators.
He said the poll percentage in the border divisions of Jammu and Kashmir was better than that of GHMC.
Sanjay said even though TRS utilized all the strategies to rig the polls, the BJP effectively countered the flow of liquor and money.
Sanjay stated: “Hats off to the State Election Commission for acting on the direction of the TRS government to ensure low turnout.”
The BJP leaders alleged that despite all the conspiracies, the countdown has started for the TRS government. He emitted confidence that a BJP corporator will become the city mayor.
He said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, with his statements that a few people are conspiring to incite communal violence, established an environment so that individuals don’t come out to cast their votes.
Sanjay alleged that police officers distributed cash among the voters on behalf of the government. He furthermore said that pro-government officials were given poll duties.
He stated the government realized that voters from Andhra Pradesh return home during holidays and chose the election date preceded by holidays. He alleged that the government additionally organized extra buses to encourage voters to leave.
