Polling peaceful in Nellore

Nellore: Despite sporadic clashes in some parts of the district, poll process by and large peaceful. 66.9 per cent of polling registered by 5 pm. There was delay of polling process in some booths located in Nellore city, Sarvepalli, Venkatagiri, and Udayagiri segments.

Scuffles broke out between followers of YSRCP Atmakur candidate Mekapati Goutham Reddy and TDP leader and former legislator Kommi Lakshmaiah Naidu at Pulaneellapalli village in Chejarla mandal in which Gowtham Reddy received minor injuries.

Goutham Reddy said TDP leaders, who are followers of former legislator Kommi Lakshmaiah Naidu conducted rigging of 96 votes in a polling station located in Pulanellapalli village. 30 TDP activists attacked him and also the YSRCP leaders when they had tried to stop the rigging process, he added.

He blamed that the police failed to deploy additional forces though it was categorised as a sensitive polling station where on constable was posted, said Goutham Reddy. He informed that they would lodge a complaint on the incident with the District Election Officer and also write to the Election Commission of India.

In another incident, YSRCP leaders tried to attack TDP agents at a polling station in Marripadu mandal which is native village of Mekapati Goutham Reddy. Further, Venkatagiri YSRCP nominee Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, who observed polling procedure at a booth in Teerthampadu in the segment lodged a complaint with the District Election Officer against a polling officer allegedly for deleting 129 polled votes from the machine.

In Sarvepalli constituency, YSRCP leaders alleged that the police had tried to disturb the voters, who were coming to participate in the voting. Sarvepalli Assembly candidate Kakani Govardhan Reddy monitored the situation and asked the YSRCP activists to invite all voters for exercising their votes in their respective polling stations.

In Bramhanapalle village, there was a clash between YSRCP and TD leaders for some time, but police intervened and resolved the issue. Further, a bank official who was working as an assistant manager in Syndicate Bank, who was deputed as micro observer for Lok Sabha polls at Podalakur, died in an accident when he was moving on a cab to perform his duties.

The incident took place when the cab hit a tree at Chatagotla village. The deceased was identified as Jabid (28).In Nellore city, voters thronged the polling stations at Pappula Street, Zakir Hussain Nagar, and other places even after 6 pm. Further, though voters rushed to the polling stations in Nellore city, Rural and Kovur constituencies there were problems with the EVMs, delay in arrival of agents for mock poll pushed further delay.

In some polling booths, voting process delayed by one-and-a-half hour. Some villages expressed their dissent over government by staying away from the polling. Villagers of Kummarapalli village in Chittamur mandal did not participate in polling demanding development of the village. They said no leader visited their village after last elections and hence they did not take part in the polling.