After Vote Chori - New Blueprint To Rig Elections? | Today Andhra - Tomorrow All Of India? | Akash B — Transcript

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1. 0:04The scenes of scuffling you are witnessing here do not involve a local property dealer or some petty neighborhood thugs.
2. 0:12These scenes are from the local body elections in Andhra Pradesh. Similar scenes across the entire country.
3. 0:18Minor clashes are bound to happen in politics,
4. 0:21But in Andhra Pradesh, there’s a whole different level of fakiri going on these days.
5. 0:25Around 80 such attacks have taken place, spread across 11 districts.
6. 0:29Vehicles being set on fire, assault on female candidates.
7. 0:32The snatching away of form B in the presence of police and live media cameras.
8. 0:36What you are witnessing here is no ordinary instance of a breakdown in law and order.
9. 0:40This is a blueprint for orchestrating an election heist—following the theft of votes—that is currently being executed.
10. 0:47For years, when we've talked about democracy being in danger, we've usually meant that
11. 0:52Booth capturing, allegations of EVM tampering, and the failure to count VVPAT slips.
12. 0:58Or perhaps the results getting altered on the day of the vote count.
13. 1:02But this is New India... Here, Gyanu is digging deep into the election rolls and deleting voters.
14. 1:08And the goons belonging to the ruling party are entering government offices...
15. 1:12They are tearing up nomination forms right on the returning officer’s table, in the presence of police and officials.
16. 1:19If you can't even contest the election, how will you win? It's about advantage, isn't it?
17. 1:25Over the past 24 hours, right-wing authoritarian leaders across the globe have been dealt a major blow.
18. 1:30As for Brazil, something akin to a miracle has taken place there.
19. 1:33Despite losing the first round of the election, 80-year-old Lula da Silva has now won the election in Brazil.
20. 1:40He defeated right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
21. 1:45He is the son of Brazil’s far-right ex-president, Jair Bolsonaro.
22. 1:50Two years of peaceful student protests in Serbia followed, leading to snap elections.
23. 1:57In the country, long-serving right-wing ruler Aleksandar Vučić has been defeated by student-backed candidates.
24. 2:04The students' demands there, too, were for better education, better opportunities, and an end to corruption.
25. 2:11However, robust arrangements are being made to ensure that
26. 2:14what happened in South America and Europe does not occur in India.
27. 2:17The capital, Delhi, turned into the world’s most militarized peacetime capital.
28. 2:22In some places, the names of voters are being forcibly removed, while the names of illegal voters are being added.
29. 2:27And in Andhra Pradesh, a new, open experiment is being conducted regarding local body election
30. 2:32Where leaders of the ruling alliance are at the Returning Officer’s office, preventing the filing of nominations altogether.
31. 2:40To make this possible, brownshirts—reminiscent of Nazi Germany—are being sent to the homes of opposition leaders.
32. 2:47They are being confined to their homes. They are being assaulted.
33. 2:51The Election Commission is watching the spectacle with closed eyes like Dhritarashtra
34. 2:56By the time apex court wakes up, the preparations to hijack the entire election—without a single vote being cast—are complete.
35. 3:03In today’s episode of Deshbhakt, we need to understand this election terror.
36. 3:08A new chapter is being written in the history of the Mother of Democracy
37. 3:14The methods used to rig elections have evolved over time.
38. 3:18There was a time when politicians, fearing defeat in an election, would send in thugs to hijack the entire polling booth.
39. 3:24Then came a period when a major controversy erupted regarding EVMs and VVPAT slips.
40. 3:29Then, thanks to Gyanesh-ji, we saw how electoral rolls could be manipulated.
41. 3:36But now, politicians have found a brilliant and superior shortcut
42. 3:42Why take tension...
43. 3:44End the election directly from the Returning Officer's table.
44. 3:47Bring it to an end before the election. Let me explain..
45. 3:51The story begins with the nomination announcement on October 14th.
46. 3:55Elections were set to be held in 13 municipal corporations and approximately 90 municipalities.
47. 4:00The 28th of October was set as the date. Time was allotted for filing nominations from 16-18 Oct
48. 4:08Essentially, you have 72 hours, and you must file your nomination within that timeframe.
49. 4:12This is the very first trick.
50. 4:14Looking at the pictures that emerged during these 72 hours, no one can say that
51. 4:19These are images of the election process in a democratic country.
52. 4:25A man enters the returning officer's chamber here without any fear.
53. 4:31The YSRCP candidate’s nomination form lies in front.
54. 4:37The man steps forward. He snatches the paper from the officer’s hands. He tears up the nomination form.
55. 4:43And the police just stand there at the door like showpieces.
56. 4:47The question is, who exactly is this man?
57. 4:50He is no ordinary man; rather, he is a close associate of S. Savitha, the TDP MLA from Penukonda.
58. 4:58MLA Ramkrishna didn’t mince words, nor did he twist or turn them—he spoke quite directly.
59. 5:02Stop anyone who comes to file a nomination—at any cost; break their legs.
60. 5:06I will personally give instructions to the police officers; the DSP will also be present there.
61. 5:11Just think about it—this is no ordinary person. This is not just some party worker.
62. 5:16This is what Ramakrishna, the MLA from Venkatagiri says
63. 5:21In a private hall, he is instructing his cadres to go as far as breaking the legs of candidates, if the need arises.
64. 5:28Now see what impact this statement has on the ground.
65. 5:31According to YSRCP state coordinator Ramakrishna Reddy, 76 violent clashes have been officially recorded across 11 districts.
66. 5:40There were 22 incidents in Kadapa alone, 22 violent incidents recorded across the districts of Tirupati and Annamayya.
67. 5:48In Punganur, the convoy of Lok Sabha MP P. V. Reddy was heading towards the Basava Raja College nomination center.
68. 5:55Suddenly, vehicles surrounded their convoy from all sides.
69. 6:00Such extensive destruction was wreaked using iron rods, sticks, and stones that the vehicles were left completely unrecognizable.
70. 6:07The PSO from MP emerged from there seriously injured.
71. 6:11YSR's party office in Rayachoty was set on fire.
72. 6:15Vehicles parked on the road were reduced to ashes.
73. 6:19There was so much stone-pelting in Dharmavaram and Pulivendula that the police even had to fire six rounds into the air.
74. 6:27The situation in Kadapa turns out to be even more serious.
75. 6:30The position of mayor is reserved for women here
76. 6:33And the YSRCP fielded Deepti Reddy.
77. 6:36Deepti Reddy arrives to file her nomination amidst tight security.
78. 6:40Now the scrutiny ends on the evening of 19th October
79. 6:43And that same night, her police security is withdrawn.
80. 6:47As soon as the protection is removed, a mob attacks their home.
81. 6:52The house is targeted with glass bottles and stones.
82. 6:56How good the coordination can be
83. 6:58The post of Pulivendula Municipality Chairperson is also reserved for women.
84. 7:02YSRCP candidate Sunitha Reddy is with 20 female ward councilors on the morning of October 18.
85. 7:09...so that they can go together and file the nomination.
86. 7:12But look at what happens here:she is prevented from reaching the nomination center.
87. 7:17The police say it is a law-and-order issue. You cannot go there.
88. 7:22...cannot go outside.
89. 7:25From morning till 3:00 pm till the nomination deadline ended...
90. 7:30the police kept 20 women surrounded.
91. 7:34But it is not just about physical violence. Even those whose vehicles remained intact—those who did not suffer injuries
92. 7:40Administrative manipulation was carried out against them.
93. 7:43In several districts, it was reported that the nomination papers of ward candidates of the opposition YSRCP were rejected.
94. 7:50What is the outcome? Voting was supposed to take place on October 28th
95. 7:54But many lists come out on the evening of 21st October itself.
96. 7:58Just look at this spectacle: in all 44 wards of Rayachoty, there are effectively no opposition candidates left.
97. 8:05Candidates from the ruling party win uncontested.
98. 8:1063 out of the 66 divisions of the Kadapa Municipal Corporation, only a single candidate remains
99. 8:15So, here too, winners are declared uncontested, without any votes being cast.
100. 8:20Across 809 urban wards, opposition parties fail to even file nominations in 488 wards.
101. 8:28This is not an election. This is the use of terror to hijack democracy, snatch our rights
102. 8:36And if you think this only happened to ordinary candidates,
103. 8:40So, take a look at this video of V. Rajini, the former Health Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
104. 8:46At her home in Chilakaluripet, she was distributing form B to MPTC and ZPTC candidates.
105. 8:54The police arrive, and she is stopped right at their doorstep.
106. 8:58SI Priyanka threatens, intimidates, and handles a former cabinet minister in this manner in front of the camera.
107. 9:06she falls right onto the ground.
108. 9:11Just imagine—in a state where the police can throw a former cabinet minister onto the ground like this...
109. 9:17Even with the camera rolling,
110. 9:20What chance would an ordinary candidate possibly have there—against the ruling alliance and the police?
111. 9:26This is the reality of our basic democracy today in filing a nomination.
112. 9:31Who played the most criminal role in this whole spectacle—the goons?
113. 9:37The job of goons is to indulge in hooliganism, the job of a leader is to do politics.
114. 9:41The biggest compromise—and a stain on democracy—has been brought about by those in khaki uniforms.
115. 9:46Our Constitution states that during elections, the police machinery shall function as a neutral watchdog
116. 9:52under the supervision of the State Election Commission.
117. 9:55However, in Andhra Pradesh, the police—from DGP Harish Kumar Gupta down to the local circle inspector—
118. 10:00were acting like loyalists of the ruling party... it was visible
119. 10:07Editor, stop, stop, I'm not saying this, man. What are you talking about? I'm not saying this
120. 10:13This is what YSRCP District President Ambatti Rambabu said in a press conference.
121. 10:20A list of 54 police officers has been made public.
122. 10:23Which includes senior IPS officer and Sattenapalli DSP Hanumantha Rao.
123. 10:29And the allegation has been leveled against them very directly
124. 10:32That the entire State machinery and police force of Andhra Pradesh
125. 10:35at the behest of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his son, Cabinet Minister Nara Lokesh
126. 10:40All these forces have been deployed to suppress the voices of opposition parties.
127. 10:47Actually, it is not just about Andhra Pradesh.
128. 10:49Mamata Banerjee had also employed these tactics in Bengal during the local body elections.
129. 10:54But now it is being further refined and made more powerful... to implement in entire country
130. 11:02In other words, Andhra Pradesh is just a glimpse; there is still the rest of India.
131. 11:06You will very soon see all these tactics being used in other states as well.
132. 11:11Listen to these... they will happen soon.. there will be selective preventive detention.
133. 11:18Place the top frontline leaders of the opposition under house arrest 24 hours before the nominations.
134. 11:24For instance, MP Avinash Reddy was forcibly surrounded by the police outside the party office in Kadapa.
135. 11:31...taken into custody so that he wouldn't even be able to accompany the candidates to the nomination center.
136. 11:36You will find many more such cases.
137. 11:39What justification did the administration provide for the house arrest?
138. 11:43That their release will lead to a breakdown in law and order.
139. 11:45The idea is to lock up those whose families have been attacked, while leaving those who roam the streets wielding sticks free.
140. 11:53This script, by the way, is nothing new. You may have seen it recently in Delhi during the CJP protest
141. 11:59The drama that was going on was that people who asked questions to the government were being detained
142. 12:04And the police were providing VIP treatment and VIP cover to those who were engaging in hooliganism
143. 12:09BNSS sections 126 and 170 are also being misused extensively.
144. 12:14Under the new law, people are now being placed under preventive detention
145. 12:20In the name of dispersing the crowd, the police are easily using lathi charge three or four times or tear gas
146. 12:27When such extensive use began, State DGP Harish Kumar Gupta himself remarked...
147. 12:33The law cannot be used to prevent someone from contesting an election.
148. 12:37And action will not be taken based on party affiliation.
149. 12:41But this rhetoric is merely for grabbing headlines. On the ground, the crackdown is being directed only at those
150. 12:46against whom orders have been issued from above.
151. 12:49Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu appeared to be on the defensive during the press conference.
152. 12:53He stated that the opposition YSRCP has resorted to criminal politics.
153. 12:58I have a question for the Chief Minister. It’s a small question—please don’t have me arrested!
154. 13:03If the YSRCP is responsible for all the thuggery—let’s assume your claim is true
155. 13:06So, who is tearing up these nomination papers? YSR is shooting himself in the foot?
156. 13:12And what about that TDP leader who was seen tearing up papers right in front of the Returning Officer?
157. 13:18But look, this is the new India—so an FIR was filed, but against whom?
158. 13:23An FIR is filed against the opposition YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy.
159. 13:28An FIR is filed against MP Avinash Reddy.
160. 13:31An FIR has been filed against Jinnah Shareef, the YSRCP candidate for Rayachoti.
161. 13:37Those whose vehicles were burnt, and whose people ended up in the hospital, were also provided with a complimentary FIR.
162. 13:43When Naidu began to face excessive public backlash, a rather peculiar narrative was also set in motion.
163. 13:50It was reported that the YSRCP has brought in 10 hired shooters from Punjab to carry out violence.
164. 13:56They were caught with weapons in Rayachoty
165. 14:02Just imagine—in the streets of Rayalaseema,
166. 14:06gangsters are being outsourced from Punjab to prevent someone from running for a ward member election.
167. 14:13In the corridors of politics, this is the oldest, time-tested method used to lead people astray.
168. 14:19When questions on the administration and the police start becoming too harsh, suddenly some external force comes into play.
169. 14:28Actually, I’m surprised that Pakistan wasn’t mentioned; that would have been even more impactful.
170. 14:33The advantage of this is that when you engage in such showboating—
171. 14:40Then the godi media gets yet another pretext for a debate.
172. 14:44attention diverted from acts of vandalism and the kind of politics currently playing out—which are strangling democracy
173. 14:50But when the police face political accusations, and politicians themselves turn into rioters, to whom can the common person turn?
174. 14:55....to the Constitutional body. In this case, the State Election Commission will be approached.
175. 15:00Article 243K of the Constitution states that
176. 15:04The entire responsibility for conducting municipal and panchayat elections lies with the State Election Commissioner.
177. 15:09But what did Andhra’s State Election Commissioner (SEC), Anil Chandra, do throughout this entire episode?
178. 15:15Closed his eyes, shut his ears, and sealed his mouth
179. 15:19And when the opposition approached the High Court, the Andhra Pradesh High Court, on October 18th, said
180. 15:26The elections have now begun. We will not directly interfere with the nomination deadline.
181. 15:32The matter then reaches the Supreme Court.
182. 15:35Justices Joymala Bagchi and V. Mohana viewed video recordings showing papers being snatched from the hands of officers...
183. 15:42where the convoy was being pelted with stones.
184. 15:45So the Supreme Court gave the State Election Commissioner time till next Thursday and said that
185. 15:50Please make a decision in which candidates have alleged that they were prevented from filing their nominations.
186. 15:59Additionally, the Supreme Court directed the SEC regarding the request to extend the deadline...
187. 16:03The documents, videos, and evidence submitted by the candidates should be examined thoroughly.
188. 16:09Just recall that statement by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
189. 16:12that the YSRCP has become a criminal litigant
190. 16:16So, Chief Minister, tell us now: if the YSRCP was a 'fake litigant,'
191. 16:21So why did the Supreme Court accept their petition?
192. 16:24Why did the Supreme Court examine the evidence? Why did the apez court issue a directive to provide protection to the DGP?
193. 16:30Why did they tell the SEC to look into all these issues properly?
194. 16:36Please check these in detail.
195. 16:38This is the same Supreme Court that did not intervene when a massive SIR fraud was taking place in Bengal.
196. 16:45But after seeing the video evidence here, one cannot even pretend to be blind.
197. 16:50We have already seen over the past month just how compromised the Chief Election Commissioner is.
198. 16:54The Election Commission is quietly making U-turns on its decisions. It's not admitting mistakes, but it is making U-turns.
199. 17:00We made an episode... Go watch it.
200. 17:02But we had no idea just how crooked a State Election Commissioner could be.
201. 17:10How he can openly strangle democracy
202. 17:13This is how grassroots democracy is being dismantled in our country.
203. 17:17On Deshbhakt, the reason we are focusing on this issue today is because...
204. 17:20Because this is not limited solely to the long-standing animosity between Chandrababu Naidu and Jagan.
205. 17:25This is an institutional cancer that has hollowed out local governance across the entire country from within.
206. 17:32The YSRCP, which is today loudly invoking democracy...
207. 17:37Is it pure? Absolutely not.
208. 17:40In 2021, when Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP government was in power, they used this exact same playbook.
209. 17:47In Kadapa, 76% of the ZPTC seats, and the 33 seats in Pulivendula.... no one in opposition even managed to file a nomination
210. 17:58Where is the difference? The only difference is that in 2021, the stick was in the hands of the YSRCP
211. 18:03In 2026, that same baton is in the hands of the TDP and the NDA.
212. 18:07Power has changed, but the DNA of violence remains exactly as it was.
213. 18:11Everyone is trying to strangle democracy. The system remains the same.
214. 18:15The faces of the hunter and the hunted have changed.
215. 18:20But when the BJP carries out the hunt—or when its allies do so under its supervision—the hunt becomes far more ferocious.
216. 18:30Recall the West Bengal panchayat elections, when TMC workers surrounded the nomination centers across the entire state.
217. 18:37The opposition could not even file nomination papers for 34% of the panchayat seats.
218. 18:42Then our Union Home Minister Amit Shah had tweeted and written
219. 18:50At that time, the BJP government in Delhi could clearly see democracy being finished in Bengal.
220. 18:56But today, as that same model is being replicated in Andhra Pradesh
221. 19:00then that same BJP government fails to see these actions by its coalition partner.
222. 19:06...fails to see the way in which democracy is being stifled.
223. 19:11Something similar happened in the 2021 elections for district panchayat and block chiefs in UP.
224. 19:16An incident involving the pulling of a female candidate's saree came to light in Lakhimpur Kheri.
225. 19:21Incidents of nomination papers being snatched
226. 19:24The ruling party wins approximately 40% of the 825 Block Pramukh seats uncontested.
227. 19:32The only problem is that, previously, these incidents used to occur in only a few states—and during certain elections.
228. 19:38But now, a blueprint is being prepared for use in grassroots-level elections across the entire country.
229. 19:48No one is hiding their faces anymore. No one is working in the silence of the night.
230. 19:52The camera is rolling. A policeman is standing.. Yet, with their 56-inch chest, these people are strangling democracy.
231. 20:00Because they know that no action will be taken against them.
232. 20:03Nara Lokesh, Andhra’s IT Minister and son of the Chief Minister, writes on Twitter.
233. 20:16That’s true; I completely agree with you, but the question that arises is
234. 20:22If you do not allow to file nominations, then how will people decide
235. 20:25The public will decide only when they have people and candidates to choose from on the ballot paper.
236. 20:31If you use your police force to prevent others from even filing their forms, then how will public decide anything?
237. 20:38Gyanesh Kumar’s theft of votes has been caught. In several instances, the Election Commission is even making a U-turn.
238. 20:43Will this now become the new way of winning elections in our country?
239. 20:48Whoever has the stick, whoever has the khaki, he will lock the nomination gate and say We are the mother of democracy.
240. 20:56Remember, this battle is not just about the YSRCP or the TDP.
241. 21:00The battle is over whether, in the future, you will even retain the right to cast a vote against the ruling party?
242. 21:08...field a candidate against the ruling party?
243. 21:12Or perhaps some goon standing at the nomination desk will snatch your democratic ballot, tear and toss it up?
244. 21:20Regardless of which party you support, is this the kind of democracy you find acceptable—
245. 21:25or are we perhaps just wasting our time here?
246. 21:28Please tell us in the comments whether we are right or wrong by focusing on this thing
247. 21:31By the way, if you are commenting then you should also exercise your voting rights below.
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