There are reports that the Government Employees overwhelmingly voted for the alliance in the recent concluded elections. Even the Pollsters favoring YSR Congress are giving 70-75% of the Postal Ballot Votes to the alliance and YSR Congress leaders are very worried as a result.
Recently, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena issued a circular stating that postal ballot votes can be considered valid even without the signature and seal of the Returning Officer.
The memo clarified that if a postal ballot paper lacks a gazetted officer sign or a seal, it should not be considered invalid.
However, the ruling YSR Congress Party opposes this decision. The party’s MP Niranjan Reddy lodged a complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Rajiv Kumar, against this memo.
In his complaint, Niranjan Reddy argued that considering postal ballot votes without a seal valid is against the Election Commission’s guidelines.
He also stated that collecting attested officers’ specimen signatures violates Election Commission regulations and may lead to the rejection of postal ballot votes. The YCP requested the ECI to review Mukesh Kumar Meena’s memo and reconsider the decision.
Political Experts say that despite the complaint, the withdrawal of the decision seems highly unlikely.
