A delegation of the YSRC, led by minister Meruga Nagarjuna and former minister Perni Nani, lodged a complaint with the Election Commission on Tuesday, objecting to the “unwarranted” relaxation of norms for postal ballot counting in Andhra Pradesh. The reference was to a recent EC directive that the Form 13 A Postal ballots should not be rejected if they bear the Returning Officer’s signature but are not stamped and YSRC claimed it as violation of norms. They quoted the rule that, a postal ballot paper shall be rejected during the counting process without opening its inner cover (Form 13-B) if the declaration has not been duly signed by the elector or has not been duly attested by the officer on duty, or is otherwise defective.
The YSRC leaders claimed that these instructions make it clear that proper attestation is to be done by the officer competent to do so, lest the postal ballot paper stands rejected. Nagarjuna and Nani alleged that TD chief Chandrababu Naidu created chaos in the elections and deplored that the Election Commission did not take action even when TD leaders attacked voters. They said the state election authority has given directions against the Election Commission rules regarding postal ballot.
The orders should be withdrawn immediately as “acceptance by mere specimen signature is not valid.” They alleged that TD initiated anarchy on polling day and now conspired that the counting should not be done properly, “fearing that the YSRC victory is cer.
