VIJAYAWADA:As many as 34 people were injured when the workers of Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress parties attacked each other with weapons at Subbayagudem in Penuganchiprolu mandal of Krishna district on Sunday night.
The village is known for its political rivalries and clashes between the ruling and opposition parties.
The locals alleged that Subbayagudem president G Srinu and other leaders from Telugu Desam were forcing the YSR Congress workers to join their party, to which the latter refused, resulting in animosity.
According to M Ramu, one of the victims, the YSRC workers were preparing a bullock chariot (Prabha) on Sunday night to go to ‘Tirupatamma Tirunallu’.
However, a group of 70 Telugu Desam partymen cut off the power supply in the area and attacked them with knives, iron rods and axes.
The YSR Congress activists retaliated with sticks. In the clash, 34 people suffered injuries of which 14 are from Telugu Desam and 20 from YSR Congress.
On being alerted, the Penuganchiprolu police rushed to the spot and dispersed both the groups. They shifted the injured to Nandigama Government Hospital.
Both the groups lodged complaints against each other.
However, Penuganchiprolu SI I Avinash said that the two groups had been clashing with each other for the past few days over a family dispute and it was raked up again during ‘Tirunallu’ when a boy from one of the groups passed a comment on the other.
A police picket was arranged in the village to bring normalcy, he added.