Order Probe Into Coop Elections: YSRCP

In wake of the spate of complaints on large-scale irregularities in registering voters for the elections of cooperative bodies, YSR Congress has demanded an inquiry into the entire process to weed out bogus voters, enabling free and fair elections.

"We will meet the Governor and submit a memorandum requesting an inquiry into the entire process of voter registrations which was taken up in a hurry to avoid certain provisions of the Constitution," Party advisor D A Somayajulu told reporters here on Thursday.

"The elections to the primary agricultural cooperative societies are being conducted in a fraudulent manner with the eligible voters being dropped from the list and resorting to selective enrollment. A thorough inquiry should be conducted on the process of enrollment," he said.

"The voter enrollment has not been transparent, and has been kept secret in many places, and the membership figures have been cooked up to gain political mileage. Even as the last date expired, enrollment process did not stop. To cite an example, nearly 10 lakh names were added on the penultimate day of closing date," he said.

Elections to the 2,949 cooperative societies should be held in a transparent manner and the veil of secrecy should be removed so that farmers, mostly tenant farmers, will take part in the democratic process, he demanded.

If the elections are held after February, they will come under the direct supervision of the Election Commission, informed Somayajulu. To avoid that, the state is rushing through the process in a hurry, and there are anomalies galore in the enrollment of voters, he alleged.

The number of voters had gone up drastically in Chittoor and Srikakulam districts though there is no change in the extent of land under cultivation, and such irregularities are taking place in every district, he said.

In the process, many bogus voters have come on rolls while names of genuine voters were missing from the list. Though the elections are of no major consequence, we are not against the conducting of the polls to cooperatives, but we oppose the manner in which the procedure is cantering, he said.

We demand an inquiry into the enrollment process to allow free and fair elections by weeding out bogus voters, he said adding that the party will meet the Governor and submit a memorandum to this effect. (INN)