Hyderabad: On Sunday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working President K. T. Rama Rao came down on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu was raising doubts about electronic voting machines (EVMs) out of fear of losing the elections. In an informal interaction with media persons here, Rama Rao said it was surprising that Naidu, who always accorded priority to technology, was now against it. “In the 2014 elections too, EVMs were used. But he did not raise any objection. Does it mean they worked well then but were tampered now?” he asked.

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Angry over the malfunctioning of the EVMs during the April 11 voting in Andhra Pradesh, Naidu has slammed the Election Commission, claiming that the voting machines can be manipulated, and has demanded that the poll body reverts to the system of paper ballots. KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, said there was no scope for tampering with the EVMs, and remarked that if this had happened, people would have revolted. KTR, who is the son of TRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, said Chandrababu Naidu should stop playing "cheap" politics. He said fear had gripped the TDP chief when the Election Commission order the transfer of officials. The TRS leader said Naidu's panic clearly showed that he was on his way out.

Referring to doubts over how the polling percentage changed in Telangana, Rama Rao said there was nothing unusual about it. “In the last 10 years, in Telangana, polling percentage always changed the day after polling, when final figures are announced. When asked about the functioning of the Election Commission, the TRS leader said while he had no right to point fingers at the poll body, there was a need for change in its functioning.

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