Within hours of the closure of polling in Andhra Pradesh, violence erupted in different pars of the state with both the YSR Congress party and Telugu Desam Party cadres indulged in attacks on each other.
Reports of violent attacks from both the sides were reported in places including Tirupati, Tadipatri and the politically sensitive Palnadu region.
In Tirupati's Chandragiri constituency, an irate mob of YSRCP workers close to party candidate Chevireddy Mohit Reddy attacked TDP MLA candidate Pulivarthi Nani, when the latter was inspecting the strongroom at Sri Padmavathi Mahila University.
The YSRC supporters allegedly waylaid his vehicle and attacked Nani with empty beer bottles, stones and iron rods.
While Nani suffered a big stone attack on his chest, his gunman received injuries on his head when a YSRCP worker attacked him with an iron rod. The gunman fired in air twice to disperse the mob.
TDP supporters staged protests, demanding action against the attackers, leading to further tension. While Nani was shifted to a hospital for treatment, the TDP supporters set fire to two motorcycles belonging to YSRC leaders.
At Tadipatri in Satya Sai district, supporters of both parties engaged in stone pelting, compelling the police to resort to lathicharge and fire tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd. Additional police and paramilitary forces were rushed to the spot in a bid to restore order.
In the Palnadu region, which experienced turbulent clashes during Monday's polling, tension gripped Kota Ganeshunipadu village in Gurazala mandal on Tuesday.
TDP members gathered in large numbers after hearing that local YSRC MLA Kasu Mahesh Reddy and MP candidate Anil Kumar Yadav was visiting the village to console the families of YSRC members injured in clashes the previous day.
Mahesh Reddy alleged that though they informed the SP and DIG about the chances of potential clashes in the village, the officials did not respond swiftly.
He criticized the police department for its failure to ensure peaceful elections in Palnadu and called upon the Election Commission of India to take appropriate action against the responsible officials.
