The high-stakes battle for power in the state and the Centre unfolded across Andhra Pradesh, which simultaneously elected its Lok Sabha and Assembly representatives on Thursday, with widespread violence between party workers of regional giants Tirupati: The high-stakes battle for power in the state and the Centre unfolded across Andhra Pradesh, which simultaneously elected its Lok Sabha and Assembly representatives on Thursday, with widespread violence between party workers of regional giants — the Telugu Desam Party and YS Rajashekar Congress Party. Allegations of distribution of money and EVM malfunctions, the scale of which is under debate, drew considerations from the Election Commission regarding repolling in certain constituencies. A total of 2,395 candidates battled it out for 175 Assembly seats. Voting percentage had touched 75 percent across the state by 6 pm, and was expected to rise to 80 percent as polling was still underway and long queues were reported in some booths. In some constituencies like Puthalapattu, the inter-party clashes turned so violent that polling had to be stopped at 3 pm. The decision about repolling here and at any other places will be taken on Friday, in consultation with the Election Commission of India, the state's Chief Electoral Officer, Gopalakrishna Dwivedi said in the post-poll press conference. EC in the dock Even without the fact that it had allowed itself to be drawn into the state's political drama, the EC had a rather terrible polling day of putting out defences against allegations of large-scale EVM failures. The night before Phase 1, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu met with Dwivedi at the secretariat in Velagapudi, Amaravati. During the meeting, Naidu protested against the alleged bias by the EC in favour of the Opposition YSRCP, especially in the transfer of key officials. Naidu also accused the EC of playing into the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On polling day, YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy pointed to this meeting to allege that the chief minister was threatening the EC. Naidu has demanded repolling at places where EVMs did not work. He told the local media that 30 percent of the devices malfunctioned and as a result, polling started up to three hours late at many places. "Even technologically advanced countries are not using EVMs... a voter doesn't get the satisfaction of voting through ballots when they are voting on the EVMs. They don't ensure transparency. EVMs are not correct for the voting process. Today, there are reports of EVM malfunctioning from many booths," he said. "Some news channels are reporting that 30 percent of the EVMs are not working, which is not correct. In total, we have 45,959 booths, and we are using around 92,000 EVMs, of which we have got 344 issues and 25 are still pending," said Dwivedi. But embarrassingly, he could not cast his vote due to technical issues with the EVM at the Undavalli polling station in Tadepalli, which falls under Mangalagiri Assembly constituency, despite making it there at 7 am. He went later on in the evening to cast his vote after the EVMs there were restored. Bloody ballots Sporadic incidents of violence between party workers continue to be reported across the state with casualties on both sides. YSRCP workers allegedly attacked Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, who went to inspect a polling booth in Guntur's Sattenapalle constituency. Another TDP minister's husband and sister were injured in a violent clash between factions in Atahobilam in Kurnool. Allegations against opposing party workers came thick and fast from Narasraopet, Eluru in West Godavari, Jammalamadugu in Kadapa District and Mydukur. A viral video of the alleged attack by Eluru TDP MLA Badeti Bujji on YSRCP party workers in West Godavari district's Sanivarapupeta grabbed the nation's attention — diverted as it was with the first phase of polling held across 20 states and Union Territories — to the brawling between the two biggest state parties. A bloodied party worker was seen asking, "Is it right for an MLA to do this? Is he an MLA or a rowdy? Why does he have a gunman? To beat people up? We have come here to vote. Four people came in a car to hit us." In another dramatic incident, Jana Sena Party Assembly candidate Madhusudan Gupta damaged EVMs at Gooty in Anantapur district, ostensibly protesting the alleged partisan manner in which polling officials were conducting duties. The police arrested him. Now and five years ago The electoral outcome in Andhra Pradesh is set to become a watershed in moulding the course of national politics and is a 'Do or Die' battle for both Naidu and Opposition leader Jaganmohan Reddy. For Naidu, who is gearing up to hand the reins of Andhra Pradesh reign to his son, Nara Lokesh, in order to be able to play a bigger role in the national level if the opportunity arises, a strong showing in his own backyard is imperative. Jagan, who narrowly missed the bus in the 2014 state elections (TDP had a narrow lead of less than one percent over its rival in votes polled), cannot afford to sit in the Opposition for another five years. The son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and popular Congress leader YSR Reddy, may find it difficult to keep his flock together without power. But over the past five years, YSRCP has been steadily gaining strength, probably best evidenced by the mass exodus from the TDP ahead of the election, when 23 of MLAs and three MPs switched to the YSRCP. Also by expertly egging on the TDP to take on alliance partner BJP over the granting of special status to the state, Jagan forced the TDP out of the Central government. YSRCP now promises to deliver what TDP couldn't despite its cosy relationship with the Centre and ministerial berths in the Union government. Jagan is intent on scuttling Naidu's national aspirations by aligning with Telangana chief K Chandrashekar Rao, who is batting for a federal front. The TRS and YSRCP, having openly exhibited their camaraderie initially, toned it down and desisted from open overtures.<doc-sep>Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election 2019 Voting LIVE Updates: After YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had threatened the Election Commission, TDP released a video of Naidu's meeting with Chief Electoral Officer Gopalkrishna Dwivedi, in which he lodged a protest claiming that the poll panel was biased towards YSRCP. Auto refresh feeds This is the first time since Telangana was carved out of the state that Andhra Pradesh will vote in Assembly elections on Thursday, 11 April. The election will be held simultaneously with the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. As many as 2,118 candidates are in the fray for the Assembly election. Apart from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the YSR Congress Party, Congress, BJP and Jana Sena are also contesting. This will be the first time in its 37-year history that TDP is contesting without any allies. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is seeking re-election for the ninth time from Kuppam constituency in Chittoor district. His son Nara Lokesh is making his electoral debut from Mangalagiri. Over 3.5 crore voters — 1,94,62,339 men, 1,98,79,421 women, 3,957 transgenders and 10.15 lakh first-time voters — will vote in 175 Assembly constituencies. The state has 56,908 service voters, while 5,323 NRIs from the state are also registered as voters. Voters standing in queue at polling booths at 6 pm will be allowed to cast their votes past the closing time. Voting will begin at 7 am and end at 6 pm. But in the seats affected by Left-Wing Extremism, mostly those bordering Odisha and Chhattisgarh, polling will end at 4 pm. In the 2014 Assembly election, TDP won 101 seats, YSRCP 68, BJP four, Navodayam Party 1 and an Independent candidate won one seat. The Congress didn't bag any. In the 2014 Assembly election, TDP had won by a margin of just 0.2 percentage points. TDP won a vote share of 44.6 percent and YSR Congress got 44.4 percent of the votes. EVMs in booth no 153 in Raptadu Assembly constituency in Anantapur district failed to work, The Hindu reported. EVMs in polling booth no 101 in Visakhapatnam East constituency was also not working, according to the report. The contest for the post of Chief Miniser of Andhra Pradesh is between TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress Party’s Jagan Mohan Reddy. An hour into voting, polling has yet to start at a booth at Gujarati Mandal School in Vijayawada, according to The Times of India . Jana Sena Party candidate Madhusudan Gupta has been arrested for damaging an EVM at a polling booth in Gutti town in Anantapur district. He was protesting against the alleged partisan manner in which polling officials were conducting duties. "I'm very confident, people are looking for a change, vote without fear," he added . “Vote for change, vote without fear," YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy told NDTV . Reddy has been attacking Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for not fulling his election promises from 2014. Gupta was angry with the polling staff for not displaying the names of the Assembly and parliamentary constituencies properly. The police said he had lifted the EVM and thrown it on the floor. The machine was damaged in the incident. Jana Sena Party leader Madhusudan Gupta, who has been arrested for damaging a voting machine, threw the EVM on the floor at a polling station in Gutti in Guntakal Assembly constituency of Anantapur district, the police said, according to News18 . In the wake of reports of faulty EVMs, Chandrababu Naidu has reiterated his demand to have the voting machines with paper ballots. Voting has been delayed in a number of polling booths in Andhra Pradesh due to malfunctioning EVMs, forcing people to wait in queues, braving sultry weather. At the 163rd booth in Kadapa city, the button representing the 'fan' symbol did not respond, The Hindu reported. In the 106th booth in Mydukur also, the 'cycle' symbol was unresponsive. Polling booth officers changed the EVMs immediately on complaints. TDP candidate Aravinda Babu was attacked allegedly by YSR Congress activists in Narsaraopet Assembly constituency, The Hindu reported. The police had to lathicharge workers of both parties to quell the clashes. Ironically, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Gopala Krishna Dwivedi was unable to cast his vote at Tadepalli Assembly constituency in Guntur district due to malfunctioning EVMs. Reports are coming in that people are leaving polling booths without voting returning home. In a statement, the YSR Congress claimed its party leaders in Icchapuram are being forced into jails by the police in collusion with the TDP. "Booth numbers 41, 42 and 43 in Rajahmundhry rural constituency have been forcibly occupied by TDP cadre, and they are not allowing voters to exercise their franchise freely," the statement reads, according to The Indian Express . YSR Congress leader Matta Raju was attacked allegedly by TDP workers outside a polling station at Indira Colony High School in Eluru Assembly constituency in West Godavari district, The Times of India reported. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan defended his party leader ​Madhusudan Gupta, who was arrested for damaging a voting machine in Gutti in Guntakal Assembly constituency. "How do we know who broke the machine?" he said, according to India Today, even though there's a video of Gupta throwing an EVM on the floor at the polling booth. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister has demanded repolling at the locations where EVMs did not work. He said 30 percent of the voting machines had malfunctioned, because of which polling started nearly three hours late at many places. Eluru TDP MLA Badeti Bujji allegedly led an attack on YSRCP party workers in West Godavari district's Sanivarapupeta. In a video going viral on social media, a bloodied party worker can be seen asking: “Is it right for an MLA to do this? Is he an MLA or rowdy? Why does he have a gunman? To beat people up? We came here to vote. Four people arrived in a car to hit us.” Clashes between TDP and YSRCP party workers are being reported from various places of Andhra Pradesh.<doc-sep>There were delays in polling in several places in Andhra due to glitches in EVMs (Representational) Voters queued up in considerable numbers at polling stations to exercise their franchise as voting to elect 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha members in Andhra Pradesh began at 7 am today. In many places electronic voting machines or EVMs had glitches resulting in some delay in polling, an official told news agency Press Trust of India. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his family members voted at a polling station in Undavalli village in the state capital region Amaravati. His son Nara Lokesh is the TDP candidate from Mangalagiri Assembly segment that covers Undavalli. YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy cast his vote in his native Pulivendula in Kadapa district, from where he is seeking re-election. State Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi cast his vote in Tadepalli and said there were complaints about technical glitches in EVMs in about 50 places. Technical teams were on the job to rectify the defects and enable polling, he said. There are a total of 3,93,45,717 registered voters in the state, including 1,94,62,339 male, 1,98,79,421 female and 3,957 transgenders. Of the total, 10.15 lakh are first-time voters in the age group 18-19. As many as 2,118 and 319 candidates are in the fray for 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats respectively. Polling would end at 5 pm in the Maoist-affected areas, mostly those bordering Odisha and Chhattisgarh.<doc-sep>After multiple delays throughout the day, mostly due to malfunctioning of EVMs, voters wait in queue at polling booth No. 37 in Christianpet even at 10.40 pm at Tadepalli town of Mangalagiri constituency in Guntur district on Thursday. (E. Tejo Roy) Vijayawada: Three persons died in clashes between YSRC and TD workers in Rayalaseema during Thursday’s elections to 175 Assembly segments and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. Clashes were also reported between the two main rivals in the the volatile Rayalaseema and Palnadu regions. There were incidents of EVM damage and stone pelting in many centres. The voting percentage was put at 80, which will be revised on Friday. This is higher than the 78.4 per cent registered in 2014. Polling was affected by about 400 EVMs malfunctioning across the state, and voting was expected to continue till midnight in Mangalagiri where minister and TD candidate Nara Lokesh, the son of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is contesting. Long queues were witnessed at almost all the polling booths across the state as early as 7 am. Many of them were disappointed when EVMs did not function. Polling was delayed by three hours at some centres, forcing voters to suffer under the scorching sun. Both TD and YSRC had approached CEO and accused each other of malpractices and rioting. TD has demanded repolling in 200 booths. The YSRC said two of its activists were attacked with sickles by TD cadres and killed in Veerapuram of Tadipatri constituency in Anantapur. The TD said its activist Siddha Bhaskar Reddy was killed by YSRC cadres in Veerapuram. The YSRC said its supporter B.R. Venkatrami Reddy of Thambalapalle of Chittoor district and Pulla Reddy died when they were hit on the chest with a stone during clashes. A total of 3,93,45,717 voters were registered in the state, 1,94,62,339 male, 1,98,79,421 female and 3,957 transgenders. About 10.15 lakh are first-time voters in the age group 18-19. Mr Naidu and his family cast their vote at a polling booth in Undavalli. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan reportedly broke the queue and voted in Patamata. YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his family voted in their family bastion Pulivendula in Kadapa district. After casting the vote, Mr Reddy told the media that his appeal was vote without fear and vote for change. Asked about Income-Tax raids, he said unaccounted money was bound to invite action. About the transfer for the DGP, he said the EC had not considered the YSRC’s genuine demand. He said that in 2009, the TD had complained to the Election Commission to change the DGP and the EC has conceded the demand and shifted the DGP in undivided AP. “In the same spirit of democracy we have complained but the EC did not respond,” he said. Mr Kalyan said about 10 per cent of EVMs did not function across the state and it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair poll without any confusion.<doc-sep>
An impressive turnout of over 73% was recorded on Thursday in the single phase assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh amid stray violence involving the ruling TDP and YSRC cadres that reportedly left three people dead. Incidents of EVM damage and stone pelting marked the high octane polling that saw a large number out of the over 3.97 crore eligible voters turning up braving the scorching summer heat. Polling was held on Thurday simultaneously for 175 Assembly seats featuring 2,118 candidates and 25 Lok Sabha seats having 319 contestants. Here are the live updates: 5:15 pm Nara Lokesh, IT minister and TDP National General Secretary, who created a buzz with his decision to contest the elections, is traling from his constituency, Mangalagiri. Sitiing MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy of YSRCP is leading here with a margin of 9482 votes. This, despite Mr. Lokesh's promises that the renowned handloom sarees of Mangalagiri would receive international recognition and despite laying foundation stone of IT giant HCL to strengthen the job sector. Mr. Lokesh, son of CM Chandrababu Naidu, was formally inducted into the party in 2014. 5:10 pm Anantapur district registered 62.08% voting till 5 p.m. 116 EVMs malfunctioned and of them 50 had to be replaced, while the remaining were repaired. Voting was delayed between 30 minutes to 3 hours. 5.00 pm Polling percentage in the Assembly consituencies of Visakhapatnam district at 3pm was 45.79%. Chittoor district witnesses 57.6% polling, while Kadapa district witnesses 56.44% polling by 3 pm. 4.30 pm TDP worker hacked to death outside polling booth Chinta Bhaskar Reddy, a Telugu Desam Party worker, was hacked to death near polling booth No.197 at Veerapuram in Tadipatri constituency of Anantapur district on April 11. The clash followed an alleged attempt by some 15 TDP supporters to capture the booth. District Election Officer G. Veerapandian said TDP and YSR Congress Party workers indulged in clashes somewhere in Veerapuram village, but ran into the polling station and chased each other. Outside the polling booth the TDP worker was beaten to death. Three YSR Congress Party supporters were injured. Read more 1:50 pm Polling staff delete 125 votes on EVMs in Masula The polling staff has reportedly deleted at least 125 votes that were polled on the Electronic Voting Machine after they have learnt that they did not clear the votes casted during the mock poll drive in Machilipatnam assembly segment. On being learnt about the deletion of their votes, a few voters managed to turn up to the polling booth to poll again. 12:40 pm Polling is peaceful in Naxal-hit Odisha-Andhra border. Outside vehicles are thoroughly frisked before entering the constituency. Since Odisha witnessed an IED blast in Wednesday night, EVMs were sent to the polling booths only on Thursday morning. 12:15 pm Telugu Desam Party worker Chinta Bhaskar Reddy hacked to death near polling booth No.197 at Veerapuram in Tadipatri constituency of Anantapur district. 12:10 pm At Yanametla village in Sattenapalli Assembly constituency, YSRCP workers allegedly manhandled Assembly Speaker and TDP candidate Kodela Sivaprasada Rao. In the resulting altercation, Mr. Rao had his shirt torn and had minor bruises. His gunman also suffered small injuries. He later entered a polling booth and shut it from inside. Police forced it open and brought him out. He fainted but regained consciousness after some time. MLC Buddha Venkanna was taken into custody at Mallikarjunapeta in Vijayawada city as he staged a protest against the disruption of polling cause by faulty EVMs. 12 noon Large-scale malfunctioning of EVMs reported across Visakhapatnam Polling for parliamentary constituencies and Assembly segments in Visakhapatnam district began on a peaceful note, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere in the district till around 11 a.m. on Thursday. Brisk polling was seen at most places with voters forming long queues outside the polling stations right from 7 a.m. The common complaint was the malfunctioning of EVM s, resulting in delayed start of the poll process at some booths. 11.40 a.m. Jana Sena candidate arrested for damaging EVM Jana Sena candidate Madhusudhan Gupta being arrested in Gooty for breaking an EVM, on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Ramesh Susarla Voting in Anantapur district got delayed at most of the places registering 10.62% by 9 am, violence raised it head at several places on Thursday. While Guntakal Jana Sena Party candidate Madhusudan Gupta was arrested for breaking an EVM at Gooty, in Singanamala (SC) constituency there were clashes between YSR Congress and TDP followers in Jangampalli village of Yellanur mandal.