Voting for the eagerly awaited by-elections to the ZPTC seats of Pulivendula and Vontimitta, both in Kadapa district, formally commenced. Voting started at 7 AM this morning and will extend till 5 PM. The person at the back of the queue after the deadline will also be able to cast their vote. The voting process is being conducted under the age-old ballot paper system to provide a hassle-free, paper-based voting system.
To provide safety and avoid any disturbances, strict security arrangements have been established by district authorities. Police patrols have been increased to ensure surveillance of sensitive areas, and CCTV cameras at polling stations help in enhanced surveillance. In addition, the whole election process is being monitored closely through webcasting so that transparency and fairness prevail.
With the violence reported during the election campaign, the police have taken precautionary steps. Part of these preventive measures include serving 500 people in Pulivendula and Vontimitta with bindover notices and detaining a number of individuals under house arrest to ensure that no one could disrupt the situation.
11 candidates are contesting for the ZPTC seats in both constituencies. In the Pulivendula constituency, the contest is predominantly between YSR Congress Party’s Hemant Reddy and the TDP’s Mareddy latha Reddy. Both have been vigorously pursuing election campaigns, with prominent party leaders including ministers and former ministers backing the campaigns.
In a security measure, YSR Congress MP from Kadapa Avinash Reddy was arrested by police and brought to Kadapa. He held a demonstration outside his house in protest of his arrest. This triggered a huge turnout of YSR Congress leaders, party workers, and supporters outside his house, adding fuel to the already volatile situation in Pulivendula.
This resulted in a huge congregation of YSR Congress leaders, activists, and supporters at his residence, raising tensions in Pulivendula. In Vempalle too, YSR Congress state secretary SV Satish Reddy was house arrested.
With the day going on, all attention is focused on these important by-elections, which are bound to have important political implications in Kadapa district.
