LOCAL BODY POLLS: YSRC, TD MEN CLASH

Barring a few sporadic incidents of violence, the final and second phase of ZPTC and MPTC elections went off peacefully on Friday. The state Election Commission said the election for 536 ZPTCs and 7,975 MPTCs registered around 80 per cent polling.

State Election Commissioner P. Ramakanth Reddy said that re-polling will be held in eight polling stations in five districts as polling was stopped due to various reasons including the use of wrong ballot papers and theft of ballot box. Re-polling will be held on April 13 in Kalavayu of Nellore district, Singhanamala of Anantapur district, Merakamudidam of Vizianagaram district, Yeldurthi of Medak district, and Busipattu of Vishakapatnam.

Meanwhile, violence was witnessed in some regions of Rayalaseema and Costal Andhra. At Dallavalasa in Ponduru mandal, in Srikakulam, the TD and YSRC cadres clashed in the early hours on Friday in which two villagers and a police constable injured.

At Nandivada in the same mandal, TD Amudalavalasa MLA candidate Kuna Ravi Kumar was injured in his left eye and hand when YSRC ZPTC candidate Majji Radharani’s husband, Majji Gopala Krishna attacked him.

In Prakasham district, a voter J. Vengaiah 45, died of cardiac arrest in the Polavaram polling booth of Mundlamuru mandal. He came out of the polling booth after casting his vote, collapsed on the road and died on the spot. Similarly in Vizianagaram, a senior citizen, A. Appalanaidu, 62, suffered a heart attack and died while waiting at the polling booth to vote.