YSRCP leaders obstruct TDP campaign

Indulge in verbal duel with police

Jammalamadugu (Kadapa): Tension prevailed in the villages of Gamunchipalle, Sunnapurallapalle, Shirigepalli, Peddadanluru, Dharnapuram and Goriganur on Monday when the Telugu Desam Party candidate from the Jammalamadugu Assembly constituency P Ramasubba Reddy and Lok Sabha candidate Srinivasulu Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP CM Ramesh campaigned on behalf of the party. As these villages are the traditional strongholds of the YSR Congress Party, the party’s candidate C Adinarayana Reddy and his supporters objected to the campaigning of TDP leaders which led to a clash between them.

The campaign by the TDP leaders took place under tight police security. The YSRCP leader Koti Reddy, uncle of Adinarayana Reddy, entered into a verbal dual with the police and said that the TDP leaders had no right to conduct an election campaign in their villages.

The situation has become so tense and sensitive in the region that the polling agents are reluctant to sit even if police protection was provided to them.

Speaking to the media here on Monday, TDP leader Ramasubba Reddy was critical of the YSRCP leaders for spreading fear and violence. They said that the YSRCP leader and MLA Adinarayana Reddy did nothing for the voters and there was no development in his constituency. He was intimidating the voters and creating a fear psychosis among them, they alleged.

Ramasubba Reddy said under the prevailing circumstances, elections cannot be held freely and fairly and accused Adinarayana Reddy of fomenting trouble. He challenged Adinarayana Reddy for a political debate on the issue of development in his hometown Gundlakunta village. It was highly improper to terrorise the voters, he said.

He said that though there were nine villages and 9,000 voters in his constituency, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold elections according to democratic norms.

He said that political campaigning was not held in these villages for the past 25 years out of fear. For the first time, the TDP leaders conducted campaign in Devgudi constituency and people came out and listened to the leader.

The YSRCP cadres tried to obstruct the campaigning of the TDP leaders which had to be held under tight police security. In Peddadandluru village, YSRCP activist Sanjiva Reddy joined the TDP in the presence of Ramasubba Reddy. Later, political campaigning was conducted in the remaining villages.