TDP-YSRCP clashes continue in Andhra, cops open fire in Kadapa to defuse tension

Political clashes continued in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, October 17, the second day of nominations for the local body elections. In Pulivendula, a YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) stronghold in Kadapa district, police fired six rounds in the air to bring the situation under control.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSRCP have blamed each other for the violence that broke out in Rayachoti and Punganur on October 16 and continued in other parts of the state the next day.

In Pulivendula, YSRCP nominees were reportedly asked to wait outside the nomination centre while TDP candidates filed their papers. This led to a confrontation with police personnel as the YSRCP nominees allegedly tried to enter the centre.

Kadapa Superintendent of Police Shelke Nachiket Vishwanath said “some people became aggressive towards the police and started pelting stones.” He said police responded with a lathi charge and tear gas, and later fired several rounds in the air after the alleged stone-pelting continued.

On October 16, YSRCP MP P V Midhun Reddy’s convoy was attacked with stones, sticks and iron rods while he was accompanying party candidates to file their nominations in Punganur town, Annamayya district. The YSRCP alleged that TDP workers carried out the attack, while TDP cadres blamed YSRCP workers for instigating the violence.

Andhra Pradesh Police have since registered cases against Midhun Reddy and others in connection with the incident. Police also arrested 10 people from Punjab who were allegedly found with unlicensed firearms near Rayachoti, where several vehicles were set on fire on October 16. The TDP has alleged that the men were brought to Andhra Pradesh by the YSRCP to create unrest.

Amid the tensions, State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha directed district authorities to ensure adequate security at nomination centres so candidates could file their papers before the deadline on October 18.

YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that TDP cadres had resorted to violence to prevent his party’s candidates from filing nominations.

He accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of giving “his party’s mobs a free hand and using the police to protect them.” Jagan alleged that YSRCP candidates had been chased with knives and sticks and that their nomination papers had been torn up by TDP supporters.

“The incidents across the state, including in Kadapa, Pulivendula, Kamalapuram, Jammalamadugu, Rajampet, Rayachoti, Punganur, Tirupati, Darsi, Dachepalli and Gurazala, show how badly democracy has been undermined under Chandrababu’s rule. The police firing in Pulivendula was a bullet fired at democracy,” Jagan said. He called for the Union government’s intervention and for President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh.