Minister for Panchayat Raj and Power, Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, attributed the rise in voter turnout during the recently-held general elections in Andhra Pradesh to the many welfare schemes instituted by the State government.
Addressing the media at his camp office here on Sunday, the Minister said that the beneficiaries of the welfare schemes turned out in large numbers to vote for the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). “The public, especially women, showed their happiness with the ruling party through their vote, which is why there was a significant rise in voter turnout,” Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said.
Referring to the observations made by Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), Mr. Ramachandra Reddy acknowledged that the overall turnout had risen by 6–7%, which, according to him, would have a telling impact on the poll outcome. “We will win a significantly higher number of seats than in the 2019 elections, which we have been reiterating since the beginning of the campaign phase. We will talk about this after June 4 (counting day),” he said.
Mr. Ramachandra Reddy rubbished reports that appeared in a section of the media that the YSRCP leaders were preparing to ‘flee’ abroad worried about the ruling party’s imminent defeat.
“My family has been doing business in Africa since 2013, operating ferromanganese and silica mining projects. There was a requirement of 100 heavy vehicles and machinery for our company’s operations abroad, and the first consignment of 20 vehicles has been shipped from Mumbai Port. We are not running away anywhere,” he said.
