A physical altercation occurred between YSRCP lawmaker Siva Kumar and an individual at a polling station in Tenali, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday.

A widely circulated video on social media captured the moment when Siva Kumar, the MLA representing Tenali, was seen slapping a man, who retaliated by slapping him back. Subsequently, Siva Kumar and his supporters proceeded to assault the man while bystanders watched at the polling booth.

Following the incident, the police registered a case against the MLA, and an investigation was initiated. The incident provoked widespread outrage among the public.

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

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— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) May 13, 2024

TDP leader Nara Lokesh shared a video of the incident on Twitter with a pointed message, saying, “To the voters who assert that there’s nothing to fear from YSRCP’s rowdy behavior, I commend your bravery.”

The Election Commission reported that polling commenced at 7 am today across all 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, with voting scheduled to continue until 6 pm. As of 11 am, the voter turnout for the Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh was recorded at 23.10 percent.

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In Andhra Pradesh, the political landscape is marked by a triangular contest involving the ruling YSRCP under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Congress-led INDIA bloc, and the NDA, which includes the BJP, N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, and the Jana Sena party led by actor-politician Pawan Kalyan.

In the previous assembly polls held in 2019, the YSRCP secured a significant victory, winning 151 seats, while the TDP managed to secure 23 seats, and the Jana Sena party won one seat. Additionally, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling YSRCP emerged victorious in 22 seats, while the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP secured victory in three Lok Sabha seats.

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