The ZPTC by-elections in Pulivendula and Ontimitta seats in the combined Kadapa district are being held amidst tension on Tuesday. The polling for the Pulivendula and Ontimitta ZPTC by-elections began at 7 am. As a precautionary measure, the police have taken YSRCP MP Avinash Reddy into preventive custody in Pulivendula and shifted to an outlying area.
Similarly, TDP MLC Ramgopal Reddy in Pulivendula and YSRCP State Secretary Satish Reddy in Vempalli have been placed under house arrest. YCP goons attacked TDP workers in Pulivendula. They attacked TDP cadres going from Kanepalle to Atchavelli. YCP goons vandalized their car while they were going to vote. Kurnool Range DIG Praveen is supervising the security in Pulivendula.
YCP ZPTC candidate Iragamreddy Subbareddy from Ontimitta made a fuss with bouncers at the polling booths. The coalition government and the YSRCP have taken the Pulivendula ZPTC election seriously. Voting will be held under the ballot system from 7 am to 5 pm. The police have made heavy security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents during the voting.
Around 1500 police personnel will be deployed in both the mandals. Former MLC B.Tech Ravi’s wife Latha Reddy is contesting as a TDP ZPTC member from Pulivendula and Hemanth Reddy is in the fray from YCP. It is noteworthy that 8 independent candidates in the fray as part of the by-election strategy are from the YSRCP.
The by-election became tense as both the Telugu Desam Party and the YSRCP parties took the Pulivendula seat with great ambition. Kadapa Collector Cherukuri Sridhar has prepared all the arrangements for polling.
Special check posts have been set up at the Pulivendula, Ontimitta border and district border. About 10,600 voters will cast their votes in this election. The authorities have set up about 15 polling stations in six panchayats.
It is noteworthy that there are about 4,000 voters in the Nallapareddypalle Major Panchayat alone. The police have identified these 15 polling stations as the most problematic. That’s why tight security was set up there, including webcasting and CCTV cameras.