Vijayawada: TDP urges CEC to keep volunteers off poll work

Vijayawada : TDP state president Kinjarapu Atchannaidu wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, urging him to keep volunteers away from election-related activities. Despite clear and strict instructions from the ECI to officials regarding the exclusion of volunteers from any election-related tasks, Atchannaidu said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy openly called upon volunteers to campaign for the YSRCP during a meeting honouring them, referring to them as his election army.

Atchannaidu further stated that over the past 15 days, all MLAs and YSRCP leaders have been distributing cash, gifts and clothing to volunteers, urging them to participate in political campaigns and persuade beneficiaries to vote for the YSRCP.

He emphasised that despite these complaints and the ECI’s instructions, the government persists in involving volunteers in party activities during the campaign period, with their honorarium paid from the government treasury.

He argued that this practice is not only unethical but also violates the code of conduct for any para worker receiving remuneration from the government to engage in political campaigning.

The TDP state president urged the ECI to issue strict instructions to the chief secretary of AP to ensure the rigorous enforcement of the ECI’s guidelines along with cautioning the YSRCP against involving volunteers in their election campaign strategy.