Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take stringent measures against candidates resorting to extreme tactics like threatening suicide to sway voters.
Indirectly referring to Huzurabad Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Kaushik Reddy, the governor said that during the recent Assembly elections, a candidate resorted to threatening to commit suicide along with his family members if voters did not cast votes in his favour.
“Such influence should not be there. I appeal to the Election Commission to take strong action against such candidates,” she said.
Need for 90-95% turnout
Addressing a gathering on National Voters’ Day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University along with Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj on Thursday, January 25, governor stressed the need for 90-95% voter turnout. “Citizens have the responsibility to vote so that good candidates are elected and there is good governance. I am not in favour of NOTA. You assess the candidates and pick the best among them. If you don’t find them, then finally go for NOTA,” she urged the youth.
She further added, “Holiday on voting day is for citizens to cast their votes, not for leisure activities or getaways.”
