The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections held in Andhra Pradesh on Monday witnessed violence in various parts of the State. The poll violence was significant compared to the 2019 general elections, with both the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition parties accusing each other of resorting to violence.
The TDP accused the ruling YSRCP of kidnapping its poll agents, while the YSRCP alleged that the TDP was resorting to violence and disruptions in the voting process.
YSRCP’s Tenali Assembly candidate Annabattuni Siva Kumar was captured on a video slapping a voter who reportedly protested when the former jumped the queue to cast his vote. The voter then retaliated, slapping the MLA. This enraged the YSRCP cadre accompanying the MLA who were seen on the video beating the voter black and blue. The Election Commission of India (ECI), taking serious view of the incident, ordered the police to place the MLA under house arrest until polling time was over.
