Andhra Pradesh Poll Trends: Polling goes smoothly minus sporadic incidents of violence across Rayalaseema districts

TIRUPATI: Voters queued up to the polling booths in large numbers to cast their vote for the simultaneous elections being held to the assembly constituencies and parliament constituencies in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
According to the returning officers of the Rayalaseema districts, polling was going on more or less smoothly minus sporadic incidents of violence and kidnaps reported at Annamayya, Chittoor and Sri Sathya Sai districts.
The Rayalaseema region of the state has 52 assembly constituencies and 8 parliament constituencies.
Both the Chief ministerial contenders from the YSRCP and the TDP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Nara Chandrababu Naidu, belong to the Rayalaseema region.
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with his wife YS Bharathi exercises their franchise at the Bhakarapuram polling station at Pulivendula earlier in the day.
APCC chief YS Sharmila, who is contesting her maiden election from the Kadapa parliament constituency, cast her vote along with her husband Anil Kumar at Idupulapaya polling booth.
Meanwhile, TDP lodged a complaint to the Chief electoral officer, that some of their polling agents were kidnapped by YSRCP activists at the Punganur assembly constituency, where minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy is contesting against TDP's Challa Ramachandra Reddy.
TDP also lodged a complaint to the EC about the YSRCP candidate Duddikunta Sridhar Reddy's followers capturing the polling station at Nallasingayya village in Puttaparthi mandal and resorting to rigging after browbeating the polling officials.
At Papakkagari palle in Pullampeta mandal of Annamayya district, a Jana Sena party agent identified as Subash, reportedly lost his eye, after a group of YSRCP activists and followers of red sanders smuggler Kollam Gangi Reddy, attacked the Jana Sena activists and poll agents.
YSRCP activists also stormed into the Dalavayi polling station in Railway Kodur assembly constituency in Annamayya district and damaged the EVM and reportedly kidnapped Jana Sena agent Raja Reddy.
At Piler in Annamayya district, TDP leaders accused the YSRCP of kidnapped three of their election agents.
In Tirupati, the bogus voters once again surfaced on the polling scene on Monday. The NDA alliance parties caught hold of five bogus voters and handed them over to the local police, who took them into custody and registered a case.
Meanwhile, polling percentages reported across the Rayalaseema districts at 9 am: Kurnool district: 9.34%, Tirupati district: 8.11, Anantapur: 9.17, Annamayya district: 10.36, Kadapa: 12.09, Chittoor:11.45, Nandyal: 9.56, Sri Sathya Sai district: 9.42