Decode Politics: Why YSRCP is paying so much attention to postal ballots

AS RESULT DAY comes near, postal ballots have come to the fore in Andhra Pradesh, which voted in simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on May 13. On Wednesday, after the ruling YSRCP moved the Election Commission (EC) in this regard, the poll panel withdrew its instructions that postal ballots would be considered valid even if they do not have the signature of the Returning Officer (RO).

* Why have postal ballots gained prominence in the state?

The 2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections saw 2.39 lakh postal ballots being cast. The average number of postal ballots per constituency added up to around 1,300 votes. However, since the YSRCP started “decentralised governance” through village and ward-level sachivalayams (secretariats), the number of government employees, who form the major chunk of the voters eligible for postal ballots, has seen a rise.

In the recently-concluded polls, an estimated 5.3 lakh people were eligible to vote through postal ballots, taking the average to around 4,000 per constituency.

In the 2019 polls, the YSRCP won around 15 Assembly seats with a margin of around 4,000 votes. “The election is much closer than it was in 2019. The seats where we narrowly won could switch if all the postal ballots are counted. This is a cause of concern for us,” a YSRCP leader in Vijayawada said.

The leader added that postal ballots could play a key role in deciding the outcome in seats like Vizianagaram, Nellore Rural, Srikakulam and Gudur.

Another YSRCP district office-bearer in Palnadu district said that it is widely believed that government employees do not vote in favour of the incumbent government. “It is unlikely that postal ballots will be the only factor in deciding the outcome of the polls but in some