YSRCP MLA slaps voter after casteist slurs amid polls in Andhra

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], May 13 : YSRCP MLA from Tenali, Annabattula Shivakumar triggered controversy for allegedly hitting a voter standing in a queue at a polling booth in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district on Monday claimed that the man was drunk, made casteist remarks against him and was abusing him and his wife.
"The man in question was drunk, was creating a nuisance, and was abusing me and my wife. He accused me of supporting the BC, SC, ST, and Minority communities despite being a Kamma. I got enraged over his baseless accusations and the yellow media blew the incident out of proportion without knowing the context. He made some very shocking casteist remarks which were totally unacceptable to me," Shivakumar said.
The video of the incident which was shared by Telegu Desam Party (TDP) leader Lokesh Nara while commenting on the rowdy nature of the YSRCP.
"Voters who say that there is nothing to fear from YCP's rowdyism and goondagiri... I applaud your courage!" the TDP leader said.
Polling for all 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh was held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls on Monday.
The ruling YSRCP is contesting on all 175 seats eyeing another term while as part of a seat-sharing arrangement among NDA partners, TDP is contesting on 144 assembly seats, Jana Sena on 21 and BJP on 10.
During the 2019 elections, YSRCP registered a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, winning 151 of the 175 seats in the Assembly, dethroning the TDP government.