The Hindu : Front Page : Car chase creates stir in Tirupati

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Friday, Apr 24, 2009
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Car chase creates stir in Tirupati

Special Correspondent

— Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

POLL HEAT: Congress candidate B. Karunakar Reddy shouts at PR rival Chiranjeevi (inside the car).

TIRUPATI: Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi and Congress candidate B. Karunakar Reddy, who are locked in a fierce contest for the Tirupati Assembly seat, were on Thursday seen on a virtual bumper-to-bumper chase through the streets of the temple city.

The cat and mouse game started in the pre-lunch session when they happened to bump into each other at the Muthalareddipalle polling station. They were seen in an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter as they spoke to each other for sometime in a corner room away from media glare.

The “second round” of the encounter, which started two hours before polling was to end, turned into a real high drama. It all began when Mr. Chiranjeevi, with his campaign managers in tow, arrived at the Oriental College polling station. The voters, mostly women, tried to shake hands with him. This sparked protests from Mr. Reddy’s agent who said he should keep off the polling stations as he was influencing the voters with his filmy glamour. The actor shrugged and left the place.

Soon, Mr. Reddy and his supporters were seen chasing the PR chief’s car. At the Jyothi theatre junction, both the groups held demonstrations. Mr. Reddy shouted at Mr. Chiranjeevi who on his supporters’ advice stayed inside the car. As the actor’s vehicle started moving, Mr. Reddy chased him again. The OB vans of media channels and the police vehicles kept hot pursuit forcing passers-by to run helter-skelter. The motive behind Mr. Reddy’s chase was to check if his rival indulged in any malpractice.

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