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Tension erupted in Pulivendula on Tuesday, August 12, as voting was underway for bye-polls in two zilla parishad territorial constituency (ZPTC) seats.
Alleged members of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were seen beating up a YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) worker in Chinnakottapalli village of Ontimitta mandal. The incident occurred in the presence of Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, the YSRCP has alleged.
The TDP, in turn, alleged that YSRCP members attacked their party’s SC cell secretary, Nalla Venkata Subbaya, by barging into polling booth number 4 in Vontimitta.
Kadapa district Collector Sreedhar Cherukuri told the media that between 7 am and 11 am, voter turnout was about 35% in both Pulivendula and Vontimitta. He said police were responding to sporadic incidents of violence.
Kadapa MP from YSRCP, YS Avinash Reddy, was taken into preventive custody at his residence by police in view of the bye-polls in Pulivendula and Vontimitta. However, he staged a dharna at the Four Roads Circle in Yerraguntla after polling began, demanding that the elections be cancelled and re-conducted under the supervision of central police forces. He alleged large-scale electoral malpractices, booth capturing, and voter intimidation, claiming the process had been rendered unfair.
Avinash Reddy accused TDP and BJP leaders of orchestrating rigging by bringing in workers from other constituencies, particularly Jammalamadugu. He is a cousin of Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Polling in both Pulivendula and Vontimitta constituencies began at 7 am amid tight security and will conclude at 5 pm.
Eleven candidates are contesting in each of the two segments in Pulivendula Assembly constituency, the home turf of former Chief Minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
A total of 10,600 voters are eligible to vote at 15 polling centres in Pulivendula ZPTC, while Ontimitta ZPTC has 24,000 registered voters.
Before polling day, police placed YSRCP state secretary Satish Reddy under house arrest in Vempally and TDP MLC Ramgopal Reddy in Pulivendula.
Tight security arrangements have been made to prevent untoward incidents, with police checkposts set up along the borders between the two ZPTCs and on district boundaries.
Deputy Inspector General (Kurnool range) Koya Praveen was supervising the security arrangements.
Although these are bye-elections for just two local body seats, they have drawn significant attention due to the high political stakes. The polls are being viewed as a prestige battle for both the ruling TDP and the opposition YSRCP.
While Jagan is determined to maintain his grip on Pulivendula, the TDP is seeking to make deeper inroads into the YS family stronghold. The TDP-led NDA alliance won seven out of ten Assembly seats in Kadapa district—Jagan’s home district—last year.
Pulivendula has been a bastion of the YSR family for nearly five decades, never losing an election here since 1978, when Jagan’s father and former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) secured his first win.
The Pulivendula ZPTC bye-poll was necessitated by the death of YSRCP leader T Maheshwar Reddy. YSRCP has fielded his son Hemanth Reddy, while TDP’s candidate is Latha Reddy, wife of former MLC and current ruling party Pulivendula in-charge Mareddy Ravindra Reddy (B Tech Ravi).
In Vontimitta, the bye-poll was triggered by the resignation of YSRCP leader Akepati Amarnath Reddy after he won the Rajampet Assembly election last year. TDP’s Muddu Krishna Reddy is contesting against YSRCP’s Iragamreddy Subbareddy.
The YSRCP has sought immediate intervention from the State Election Commission to ensure free and fair polls.
A delegation of YSRCP leaders met the Commission, urging it to halt what they described as an “unprecedented subversion of democracy.”
Earlier, Jagan Mohan Reddy accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of conspiring to hijack the ZPTC bye-elections. The former CM alleged that, along with certain officials, TDP’s “anarchic gangs” and police officers, Naidu was attempting to subvert the polls.
With IANS inputs