First Poll-Related Death Reported From Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: Poll-related clashes claimed the lives of two persons in Andhra Pradesh, the first in the ongoing general elections.

In Maharashtra’s Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district an improvised explosive device was triggered near a polling station but no one was injured.

Clashes were also reported between TMC and BJP supporters in Cooch Behar parliamentary constituency of Bengal. Polling in one of the booths was halted for a couple of hours.

High tension, however, ran high in Andhra Pradesh since polling for the first phase began on Thursday morning.

TDP worker Sidda Bhaskar Reddy and Pulla Reddy of the YSR Congress died after clashes broke out among cadres. Several activists sustained grievous injuries. They were immediately rushed to a local hospital where Sidda and Pulla were declared brought dead.

Tension also prevailed in Raptadu Assembly constituency of Anantapur district where TDP and YSR Congress activists cashed with one another after the former alleged that the latter destroyed EVMs at a polling station.

Elections are being held amid tight security, especially in Maoist-affected states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

The incident in Gadchiroli was the third Maoist attack since Tuesday’s Dantewada incident in which five people including a BJP legislator and four security personnel were killed in an IED blast.

In Uttar Pradesh, security forces reportedly fired shots in the air to deter alleged fake voters from casting their votes at Kairana.