Ruling TDP and opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) traded allegations over violent clashes in Annamayya district on the first day of nominations for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, with both sides accusing each other of provoking workers and disrupting the electoral process.
The TDP alleged that Rajampet MP and YSRCP Lok Sabha floor leader PV Midhun Reddy arrived in Annamayya’s Punganur municipality with a large convoy and that YSRCP workers provoked TDP supporters, triggering the confrontation.
He also announced that his party will pursue legal and constitutional remedies and seek the deployment of central paramilitary forces to ensure free and fair local body elections in the state. Tirupati YSRCP MP M Gurumoorthy has written to the President of India and the Lok Sabha Speaker over the alleged attack on Reddy, seeking their intervention. YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has condemned the incident and spoke to Midhun Reddy over the phone to enquire about his safety and alleged that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s government is using intimidation and the police machinery against the opposition. “Violent politics is nothing new to Chandrababu. He has turned Andhra Pradesh into a jungle raj.
TDP leaders said alleged attacks in Punganur, Rayachoti, Tirupati and Dharmavaram threatened the conduct of peaceful nominations. We are witnessing a situation where even our party leader in the Lok Sabha has no security,” Jagan said.
