20 injured as rival political parties clash in Chittoor

A Telugu Desam-backed sarpanch candidate and his supporters were attacked at Bangarureddypalle village when they were celebrating after winning the election

Two incidents of clashes between rival political parties and an incident of scuffle among some villagers marred an otherwise peaceful second phase of the panchayat elections in Chittoor district on Saturday. Clashes were also reported in some villages in Kadapa district and one village in Nellore district. Meanwhile, the elections went off peacefully in Anantapur district. In Bangarureddypalle village in Chittoor district, a group of TDP activists was attacked by some rival party activists in the evening when they were having a party after the party candidate won the village sarpanch post. Nearly 20 persons were injured in the attack. In Kandriga village, activists reportedly belonging to the Congress attacked nearly 20 YSRC activists after the Congress-supported candidate lost the election. It was not known if anyone was injured in the attack. Tension prevailed in Madhavaram village of Yadamari mandal when the villagers prevented 10 voters from the nearby Kodigutta Harijanwada from entering their village to cast their votes. This led to a minor scuffle between them but quick intervention by the police prevented if from escalating into a major clash. No one was reported injured. Meanwhile, Chittoor district reported an overall 89.30 polling percentage (PP). In Kadapa, which recorded a PP of 80.47, clashes took place between Congress and YSRC activists at some villages with both parties levelling charges against each other about rigging and other malpractice. Congress district president M Ashok Kumar lodged a complaint with Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar Sinha alleging that the YSRC activists had resorted to rigging and booth-capturing in Rajampet and Railway Kodur constituencies. In Siddavatam, 75-yearold M Venkatasubba Reddy of Mulapalle died of ill health on his way to a polling booth. In Nellore district, YSRCP and TDP workers clashed at Ramadasu Kandrika village in Venkatachalam mandal. Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the clashing workers. However, it was not known if any person was injured in the clash or the police lathicharge. A PP of 84.91 was recorded in the district. Nellore mandal, represented by the Congress MLA Anam Vivekananda Reddy, recorded a high PP of 91.21, while Kovur mandal, represented by YSRC MLA N Prasanna Kumar Reddy, witnessed a low PP of 75.24.