63 pc polling in Seemandhra till 3 pm despite Maoist violence

Barring sporadic clashes between rival party workers and alleged attacks on policemen in Rayalaseema districts, polling has been largely peaceful.

May 07, 2014 05:34 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 08:06 pm IST - Hyderabad

About 63 per cent polling was recorded till 3 pm on Wednesday in the elections held in 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly constituencies in Seemandhra.

Barring sporadic incidents of clashes between workers of YSRCP and TDP and alleged attacks on policemen in Rayalaseema districts, polling has been largely peaceful, official sources said.

The highest turnout of 67 per cent, among the 13 districts in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions (together known as Seemandhra), was reported from West Godavari district, while the lowest was in Visakhapatnam district.

Election officials hope that the final turnout may go up to around 80 per cent.

Among the 175 Assembly constituencies, polling hours are 7 am to 6 pm in 165 consatituencies. But in eight Naxal—hit segments, polling would be held from 7 am to 5 pm.

The polling concluded by 4 pm in two Naxal—affected Assembly constituencies near Visakhapatnam.

A group of Maoists burnt an EVM and a vehicle at Palakagidi of Koyyuru Mandal in Visakhapatnam district before fleeing. Repolling has been ordered at the polling station, a police official said.

Two police officers came under attack and their vehicles were also damaged after a mob pelted them with stones when they tried to regulate the crowd at a polling booth in Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, according to police.

The TDP has complained to the Election Commission in Delhi about the alleged attacks on policemen and media at some places and also about malfunctioning of EVMs.

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu strongly condemned the attack on party candidates in Mydukuru and Jammalamadugu assembly constituencies in Kadapa district by alleged workers of the YSR Congress. He also condemned the attack on police personnel at Jammalamadugu.

Earlier, police opened fire in the air to disperse a group of YSR Congress workers who allegedly tried to forcibly remove a poll agent from a booth in Guntur.

A few stray incidents were reported at Jammalamadugu, Proddutur and Mydukur Assembly segments in Kadapa district.

There were incidents of stone pelting between YSRCP and TDP at a few places and two vehicles were damaged during the clashes.

Seven workers of both YSRCP and TDP were injured in Proddatur and Mydukur segments.

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