Amaravati: In a shocking incident, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA from Tenali Annabathuni Sivakumar on Monday slapped a voter at a polling booth in Ithanagar, reportedly over an issue of queueing. After the voter retaliated and slapped the MLA back, Sivakumar’s followers then beat up the voter.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the election commission of India (ECI) has ordered the AP police to place the MLA under house arrest till the polling for the assembly constituency ended. Tenali II Town police has registered a case against the MLA under sections 341, 323 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Sivakumar could be seen walking into the polling booth, when he was asked to follow the queue by a voter.
The Tenali MLA immediately slapped the voter, only to receive an equal reaction from the voter who slapped him back. Sivakumar’s followers pounced on the voter and beat him up black and blue.
In a video recorded released later in the afternoon, Sivakumar alleged that there was a conspiracy being hatched by TDP-Jana Sena to defame him.
“This person named Gottimukkala Sudhakar doesn’t reside in Ithanagar. He is a software engineer who came here 10 days ago and started working with TDP-Jana Sena candidate Nadendla Manohar at his office. He was the one who distributed slips with QR code to purchase votes,” Sivakumar alleged.
He further said that while he and his wife cast their vote and were coming out, Sudhakar was troubling other women there.
“Because we are contesting candidates, we take the leverage of directly going inside and casting our votes, because we have to visit many polling booths to ensure everything is going fine. But Sudhakar was not only abusing me, but also my wife, and based on caste. He is a Kamma and I’m also a Kamma. Why should one feel jealous about someone,” he asked.
Also mentioning that he was receiving complaints that an EVM was not working well in that polling booth, Sivakumar alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by TDP and Jana Sena to defame him. He urged his constituents not to believe in the propaganda.
Polling began in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Monday, and both states together have 42 Parliament seats.
