YSRCP MLA Sivakumar slaps man while waiting to vote, faces retaliation in Tenali
Not pleased at the MLA being slapped, his supporters vented out their anger on the man
By Newsmeter Network Published on 13 May 2024 9:09 AM GMT
Tenali: A man waiting to cast his vote at a polling booth here on Monday slapped a ruling YSRCP MLA after he was at the receiving end for questioning the Legislator for jumping the queue.
The incident occurred at Tenali in Guntur district when the local YSRCP MLA Annabathuni Siva Kumar attempted to jump the queue and was questioned by one of the voters. In a fit of rage, the legislator slapped the man, who did not hold himself back and returned the favour.
Not pleased at the MLA being slapped, his supporters vented out their anger on the man.
"He (the YSRCP MLA) was going to vote and he jumped the queue so somebody (voter) objected," a police official told PTI about the incident which resulted in the skirmish.
According to police, there was an argument between the MLA and the voter before Kumar hit him.
After the voter retaliated, the MLA's supporters launched an indiscriminate attack on the voter, raining punches until police and other voters stepped in to stop the assault.
TDP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission over the incident.
The ECI has directed the police to take Tenali YSRCP MLA candidate Annabathina Siva Kumar into custody. It also directed the police to keep Siva Kumar under house arrest till the completion of polling. Meanwhile, police are in the process of filing FIRs over the incident.
Voting in elections to the 175 Assembly constituencies and 25 Lok Sabha seats is taking place simultaneously in the state on Monday.
