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Welfare Benefits Misused for Political Gain in Andhra Pradesh: Voter Manipulation Exposed
Welfare benefits in Andhra Pradesh were denied based on political affiliations, with personal data used to target opposition supporters. A disturbing breach of democracy.
ND
by News Desk
2024-12-20
Welfare Benefits Misused for Political Gain in Andhra Pradesh: Voter Manipulation Exposed

An investigation has revealed that government-collected personal data in Andhra Pradesh was misused to influence voters during the 2024 elections. Meda Ramana, the head of Garapadu village council, uncovered that over 50 residents, mostly women from marginalized communities, had their welfare benefits cut off for no apparent reason. Upon inquiry, the staff at the village secretariat claimed the beneficiaries were ineligible due to alleged "migration," despite evidence showing they were still living in the area.

Ramana soon realized that the cuts were politically motivated, targeting families that supported the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) during the state election. The investigation exposed a sophisticated voter manipulation scheme by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which utilized an army of paid volunteers to conduct door-to-door surveys and gather detailed personal data from citizens. This data was then used to create voter profiles, identifying and excluding opposition supporters from welfare benefits to coerce them into switching political allegiance.

The YSRCP's data-driven campaign, likened to the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal, involved creating comprehensive profiles of voters based on caste, religion, health, and even financial difficulties. This personal data was then shared with local YSRCP leaders, who instructed volunteers to exclude opposition-leaning families from government assistance programs.

As the scheme unfolded, 27 women from Garapadu filed a case in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which ruled that their benefits should be reinstated, calling the exclusion illegal. Several other villagers from across the state joined the case, raising serious concerns about the use of government data to target political opponents.

Experts have described this as a grave violation of privacy and data protection, with no current laws in India to safeguard citizens' personal information from misuse. Critics argue that such practices undermine the integrity of elections and threaten the secrecy of the ballot, potentially leading to widespread political discrimination.

In response to mounting complaints, the Election Commission filed criminal cases against volunteers for unduly influencing elections, eventually barring them from continuing their activities. Despite the YSRCP's loss in the 2024 elections, the case has set a dangerous precedent for the misuse of personal data in future political campaigns, raising alarms about the need for robust data protection laws in India.

 
Tagged:

ElectionManipulation

DataPrivacy

YSRCP

AndhraPradeshElection
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