TDP\,YSRC workers clash; EVM glitches as polling gets underway

TDP,YSRC workers clash; EVM glitches as polling gets underway

Press Trust of India  |  Amaravati 

Clashes broke out Thursday between workers of and YSR at various places in as voting got underway for the 25 and 175 Assembly seats.

Technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) hampered the poll process at some polling booths in the State.

In Guntakal, former MLA and contesting candidate of Jana Sena Party, Madhusudan Gupta, smashed an EVM in a fit of rage alleging that party symbols were not properly printed on the ballot unit.

He also shouted at the polling personnel on duty.

Gupta was immediately taken into police custody.

A mandal parishad member of was seriously injured when workers allegedly attacked him at a polling station in Eluru city.

In Jammalamadugu in district, tension prevailed in Ponnathota village as and workers indulged in stone-throwing.

In Narsaraopet constituency in district, leaders alleged TDP men ransacked a polling station in Yelamanda village and damaged the furniture.

Police personnel were also preventing YSRC sympathisers from entering into the polling booth, they alleged.

Minor trouble was also reported at a few other constituencies in Guntur, Prakasam and Anantapuramu districts as well but neither the election authorities nor the police confirmed the reports.

Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, however, said polling was going on peacefully across the state.

In a statement, the asked people not to believe in rumours as the poll process was going on peacefully.

He said the technical defects in EVMs, reported from various places, have been rectified.

N Chandrababu Naidu and his family members exercised their franchise at a polling station in Undavalli village in state capital region Amaravati.

His son Nara Lokesh, incidentally, is the TDP candidate from segment that covers Undavalli.

Talking to reporters, the referred to technical glitches in EVMs and said he was demanding that ballot papers be re-introduced.

"No developed country is using EVMs as they are prone to manipulation. We have hence been demanding that we revert to the ballot paper system," Naidu said.

YSR Y S Jaganmohan Reddy cast his vote in his native Pulivendula in district, from where he is seeking re-election.

"I am very confident that people are looking for a change," Jagan, who is aspiring for the chief minister's post, remarked.

Jana Sena exercised his franchise in State L V Subrahmanyam also cast his vote in

cast his vote in Tadepalli.

Interestingly, the VVPAT machine did not function when Dwivedi voted.

This is the first in the state after bifurcation of and creation of Telangana in June 2014.

There are a total of 3,93,45,717 registered voters, including 1,94,62,339 men, 1,98,79,421 women and 3,957 transgenders.

Of the total, 10.15 lakh are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group.

As many as 2,118 and 319 candidates are in the fray for 175 Assembly and 25 seats respectively.

Polling would end at 5 pm in the Left-wing Extremism-affected areas, mostly those bordering Odisha and

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, April 11 2019. 14:40 IST