Andhra Pradesh polls: 2 killed in clashes, EVMs malfunction

Vijayawada, Apr 12: Two persons died in clashes between the YSRC and the TD workers in Rayalaseema during Thursday’s elections to 175 Assembly segments and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.

Besides this, more clashes were reported between the two main rivals from the volatile Rayalaseema and Palnadu regions. There were incidents of EVM damage and stone-pelting in many centres.

The voting percentage was put at 80, which will be revised on Friday. This is higher than the 78.4 per cent registered in 2014.

Polling was affected by about 400 EVMs malfunctioning across the state, and voting was expected to continue till midnight in Mangalgiri where minister and TD candidate Nara Lokesh, the son of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is contesting.

Mr Naidu alleged that YSRC leaders and workers were creating chaos in polling booths. He said the Election Commission and police had failed to stop the violence of YSRC workers. He also expressed his displeasure over malfunctioning of EVMs at various places.

Long queues were witnessed at almost all the polling booths across the state as early as 7 am. Many of them were disappointed when EVMs did not function. Polling was delayed by three hours at some centres, forcing voters to suffer under the scorching sun.

Around 45,900 EVMs were used for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and problems were reported in about 400 of them, said AP Chief Election Officer (CEO) Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, who faced an embarrassing situation when the VVPAT did not work when he went to vote.