In a strong counter to former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s call for using ballot papers, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its ally Jana Sena reminded him of his statement defending Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) when his party had won 151 Assembly seats in 2019.
Senior TDP leader Somireddy Chandra Mohan Reddy said that Jagan Mohan Reddy has not recovered from the shock. “Jagan is talking like Andhra Pradesh Elon Musk,” taunted the TDP leader in a post on ‘X’.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk recently called for eliminating EVMs, triggering a fresh debate in political circles.
Joining the debate, Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday called for using ballot papers in the country to uphold the true spirit of democracy.
“Just as justice should not only be served but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent undoubtedly,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said in his post on ‘X’.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president mentioned that almost every developed country is using ballot papers. “In electoral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy,” he said.
TDP, which in alliance with the Jana Sena and BJP, wrested power from YSRCP in the recent elections, was quick to react. It posted on ‘X’ a video of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s reaction when TDP had raised doubts about EVMs after the polling in the 2019 elections.
The TDP recalled that Jagan after winning 151 seats (in the 175-member Assembly) had said that EVMs worked perfectly but now after his party is reduced to just 11 seats he is alleging that the EVMs were tampered with.
Chandra Mohan Reddy said for Jagan Mohan Reddy EVMs were great when he won but now after the defeat he is blaming EVMs. The former ministers said the YSRCP leader should recall what he had said after winning the 2019 elections.
The video was also shared by Jana Sena from its official ‘X’ handle.
In the video, Jagan Mohan Reddy was heard defending the functioning of EVMs. He says that all 80 per cent of voters who cast their votes were satisfied and none of them lodged any complaint. He slams TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu saying he was mocking democracy when people had given a clear mandate against him.