MLA slaps voter, kidnapping and more; Andhra Pradesh records 68.04% voter turnout

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh, where Lok Sabha and assembly polls held jointly, recorded 68.04 per cent polling till 5 pm on Monday. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu, PCC President Y.S. Sharmila, Jana Sena Party President Pawan Kalyan, Telugu actors Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Jr. NTR and others voted early in the morning.

The voting is held for 175 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 25 seats in the Lok Sabha. The incident of Tenali MLA and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party candidate A. Sivakumar manhandling a voter grabbed headlines on Monday. The MLA slapped the voter after getting irked over the voter questioning the MLA for violating the long queue. The man was brutally beaten up by the legions of supporters who accompanied the MLA.

The BJP Andhra Pradesh unit posted the video of the incident on social media. Another complaint said TDP workers in election booths getting beaten up by the ruling YSRCP workers.

Supporters of TDP and YSR Congress clashed at the town booth in the Tadipatri constituency. Sitting MLA and YSRCP candidate Kethireddy Pedda Reddy and TDP candidate J.C. Asmith Reddy came together to vote. The scuffle broke out due to the difference in who should vote first. The supporters then pelted stones at the MLAs vehicle.

YSRCP workers abducted TDP agents from polling stations 188, 189 and 199 in the Punganur constituency of the Chittoor district last night. Election officials and the police then rescued the agents from Pileru and brought them to the booths.