TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu along with his wife N Bhuvaneshwari and other family members after casting their votes in Hyderabad on April 30, 2014.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu said in Hyderabad today that he had cast his Assembly and Lok Sabha votes in favour of BJP, which is in a poll alliance with his party.
"I could not vote for cycle (TDP's poll symbol). I had to cast both my votes for BJP since these seats have been allotted to them as per the poll alliance, as we are part of the NDA. It is a bit painful, but in the larger interest of the country, I did it," Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad outside a polling station.
When some reporters brought this to the notice of Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal, the official said nobody should violate the poll code.
"According to Rule 39 (Conduct of Elections of 1961), which deals with maintenance of secrecy of vote by voter, nobody should violate this rule notwithstanding their stature," Bhanwarlal said, when some reporters asked if the Election Commission would cancel Naidu's vote.
Meanwhile, agitated by television news channel ticker scrolls which quoted Bhanwarlal as having ordered the cancellation of Naidu's vote, some TDP activists stormed into the CEO's chamber and demanded a clarification.
However, Bhanwarlal said that he had spoken in "general terms" and never took Naidu's name, but had merely said that nobody should violate rules.