Kadapa, April 09: The bypolls for the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly constituencies ended peacefully on Sunday.
Approximately 75 per cent of the 13.29 lakh voters in the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency and 81 per cent of the 1.89 lakh in Pulivendula Assembly segment exercised their franchise in the keenly-contested bypolls.
The final poll percentage is likely to increase by 2-3 per cent. Women turned up in large numbers than men in a fitting celebration of the International Mother’s Day.
The byelections are a do-or-die battle for the late YSR’s son and YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He himself is contesting from Kadapa while his mother Vijayalakshmi is in the fray in Pulivendula.
The Congress has pitted YSR’s brother YS Vivekananda Reddy against YSR’s widow in Pulivendula. Congress leader and Health Minister DL Ravindra Reddy is up against Jagan in Kadapa.
The high-voltage campaign by both the sides raised fears of possible violence but on D-Day it was only at a few places including, Siddareddygaripalli village in Chakrayapet mandal and K Sunkesula village in Kazipet mandal, that Congressmen and YSR Congress activists clashed. Police had to fire in the air to disperse the mobs at Siddareddygaripalli.
In K Sunkesula, one OB van of Sakshi TV belonging to Jagan was damaged. The police whipped out their lathis to restore order. Polling began at 6 a.m itself, two hours ahead of schedule.
And, in the next two hours, about 16.8 per cent votes were polled in Kadapa and nine per cent in Pulivendula.
The momentum picked up in the next three hours. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) malfunctioned at a few polling booths in Kadapa, Simha, Simhadripuram, Proddutur and Yerraguntla.
The highlight of the day was the presence of the entire YSR family, except Jagan, but including Vivekananda Reddy and his wife at the same polling booth. When Vivekananda Reddy and his wife arrived to cast their votes, Jagan’s wife Bharathi and sister Sharmila were still present.
Both covered their faces and turned away so as to avoid eye contact with the couple.
YSR’s widow Vijayamma too arrived at the same time! She came face to face with Vivekananda Reddy’s wife but completely ignored her.
–Agencies