Signing you in

He added that Reddy might be trying to leverage his position with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in alliance with the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh. On October 14, Reddy in a post on X said, “A proactive approach always yields better results than a reactive stance. The system has a flaw that needs to be corrected. Trust in the electoral process must be restored. The arrests of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka do not solve anything; it only aggravates the situation. I empathize with @SauravDassss and @AshutoshRanka.”

Also Read | BJP wary as YSRCP's Jagan Mohan Reddy hints at shift towards INDIA bloc in Andhra Pradesh

The rift between the Congress and Reddy dates back to the death of his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash in 2009. Jagan was widely seen as the successor to the CM’s post, but the Congress appointed K Rosaiah instead. He later sought to undertake a rally across undivided Andhra Pradesh, but the party did not permit it, triggering his exit.

A second Congress leader pointed out that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 23, had filed petition in the Telangana High Court for “speedy and day to day trial and personal appearance of all the accused in Prosecution Complaints filed by ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and others.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby, however, differed with the Congress. “The tactics of the Union government is well-known. Without any substance or proof, people are being targeted and ED and CBI are behaving like caged parrots. We wanted everyone other than NDA to raise the issues related to vote chori (Vote theft). I even wrote to Jagan. Not that we will come in the INDIA bloc, but we are happy that YSRCP has taken a stand,” he said.

Also Read | INDIA bloc Nov 1 rally to have wider stakeholders; students and civil society groups to join protest

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, however, accused Reddy of double standards on election authorities. According to a PTI report, Naidu alleged that Reddy is using Genz as political paws for political gain; says support for constitutional authorities should not depend on political convenience.