Violence broke out in several places in Andhra Pradesh. Sidda Bhaskar Reddy, a TDP leader, was killed in Tadipathri assembly segment in Ananthapuram district. CM Chandrababu Naidu condemned the murder saying that it was an of cowardice. The TDP told Jaganmohan Reddy that he would not be able to win the election by indulging in violence.
In Sattenapalli, Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao was attacked by YCP activists. He was beaten up and his shirt was torn by rivals. At one point of time, the Speaker fell on the floor and his gunmen suffered serious injuries.
In Meerapuram in Ananthapuram, the rival parties activists carried sickles to attack each other.
At many places in the state, lesser polling percentages were reported by midday. Slow paced polling and EVMs failures are delaying the voting. Voters are waiting in big queues despite the scorching sun. Voting picked up speed by 1 pm as EVMs complaints were repaired. Going by enthusiasm of voters, it’s expected that higher polling percentages may be reported by the end of voting.
