‘Polling Fight’ Video: Jagan Reddy’s Party MLA Slaps Voter, He Hits Back

Amid the ongoing polling, an Andhra Pradesh MLA slapped a voter on Monday in Guntur district. The voter also slapped the MLA back. The video of the incident has gone viral on the internet.

Hyderabad: Voting in India never completes without any clash, and this is proved during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh where a brazen show of VIP culture was reported. An Andhra MLA slapped a voter, reportedly after he had raised his voice to the legislator breaking the queue at a polling booth in Guntur district on Monday.

In the viral video, Tenali’s YSR Congress Party MLA A Sivakumar can be seen slapping a voter on the face. The voter also slapped the MLA. The supporters of Sivakumar also started an all-out assault on the man. Other voters tried to stop the MLA and his aides, but they keep hitting the voter. No security personnel can be seen rescuing the voter.

Voter who objected to #Guntur District #TenaliMLA #Sivakumar jumping queue, was slapped by him & voter returned in kind; ugly show of political musclepower as the @ysrcp MLA candidate’s henchmen joined attack on voter #BoothViolence #ElectionsWithNDTV #AndhraPradeshElections2024 pic.twitter.com/Z5wK0enrWK

— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) May 13, 2024

The details surrounding the conflict’s build-up remains somewhat murky, yet the politician’s rough handling of the voter sparked major outrage online. As we speak, Andhra Pradesh is in poll mode for its 25 national parliamentary spots and 175 local assembly positions. In the political arena, it’s a clash of titans between YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party and the alliance of the BJP and Telugu Desam Party under N Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership.

According to TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagi, the incident showcased the ruling party’s sheer desperation “because they know they are losing”.

“This is ridiculous. The retaliation by the voter shows that people are not going to tolerate this nonsense anymore,” NDTV quoted the TDP spokesperson he said.