VIJAYAWADA: An irate YSRC MLA from Tenali A. Sivakumar, who tried to jump a queue at a polling station, slapped a person who objected to the MLA jumping the queue.
The person slapped back the MLA in response. This led to the MLA and his followers pouncing on the voter, later identified as G. Sudhakar, and beating him to pulp.
A video of the entire sequence has gone viral on social media, prompting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take a serious note and order the ruling party MLA’s arrest.
Following this, Tenali II Town police have registered a case under Sections 341 and 323 read with 34 IPC against the MLA and his followers.
EC special police observer Deepak Mishra expressed anguish and directed Guntur district superintendent of police to immediately act against the MLA and identify his followers who had beaten up the voter and arrest them.
According to the complainant, the trouble started with Sudhakar taking exception to the MLA and his wife jumping the queue and trying to enter the booth. When he questioned the MLA over the violation, the MLA got angry and slapped him. The video revealed that Sudhakar in a quick reflex slapped back the MLA. Then, all hell broke loose with the followers of the MLA pouncing on the voter and injuring him with punches on his face and all over the body.
Other voters, including an elderly woman, were seen running away out of fear.
The EC officials retrieved the webcasting footage based on which they asked police to act. The MLA, however, claimed that Sudhakar, a follower of Telugu Desam, had abused him, terming him as a protector and supporter of Mala and Madiga community and harming the interests of Kamma community to which both the voter and MLA belonged.
“He (the voter) insulted me using filthy language, ignoring that my wife and other women voters had been present in the queue,” the MLA maintained.
The MLA alleged that Sudhakar resides in Bengaluru and came to Tenali with a sole objective of creating trouble on polling day by instigating YSRC leaders and cadres. The MLA went on to allege that the voter had been inebriated at the time.
