At least 10 battalions of additional paramilitary forces are expected to land in different parts of Andhra Pradesh, especially in sensitive areas, to prevent outbreak of violence on the day of counting of votes on May 23.
Apparently, the state election authorities are apprehensive that there could be violence in some parts of the state during the counting process, especially where the contest is tough. So they made a request with the Centre to send additional forces.
In fact, the EC authorities, who have been acting on every complaint from the YSR Congress party, have taken the decision on the additional forces based on a demand from YSRC leaders V Vijay Sai Reddy and others.
The YSRC leaders submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission to deploy additional central forces on May 23 in Andhra Pradesh during counting of votes.
Sai Reddy alleged that the TDP was planning to create law and order problem at places where the results are going against it and had been training the counting agents as provocateurs.
“We have urged the EC to provide additional forces during the counting in all the centres to thwart any untoward incident. We have also brought to the notice of the EC about the duplicity of voting by students whose names were not rounded off from the original voter list, despite casting their vote, and they were allowed to use the option of postal ballot,” he said.
YSRC leaders also demanded that Chittoor district collector Pradyumna be refrained from taking part in the election duty on the counting day as he had behaved like a TDP worker and same is the case with Rapthadu Returning Officer in Ananthapur district.