TDP, YSRCP cadres clash at Mantralayam

Tirupati: Tension prevailed at Mantralayam in Kurnool district on Friday following clashes between TDP and YSRCP cadres. Two vehicles were also set on fire before police dispersed the warring factions.What started as a petty dispute snowballed into a major standoff between TDP and YSRCP, sparking off tension in several villages including Rampuram, Basapuram, Madhavaram, and Kosigi.Sources said a group of YSRCP cadres, who were going to Kosigi to join the party’s 'Chandrababu Vennupotuki Rendellu' protest programme, stopped for some time near the house of TDP’s Mantralayam constituency in-charge Raghavendra Reddy, burst firecrackers, and raised slogans, which is said to have enraged local TDP workers, who waited there for their return from the protest programme.When the YSRCP cadres were returning, they were reportedly attacked by a group of TDP activists near Madhavaram. During the attack, a four-wheeler and a bike were set on fire. Both vehicles were reduced to ashes by the time fire tenders reached the spot. As reports of the attack spread, supporters of YSRCP legislator Y Balanagi Reddy gathered in large numbers and tried to head towards Madhavaram, but were stopped by the police near Ramapuram.

Angered by the developments, YSRCP cadres staged a sit-in protest on the road, further exacerbating tension in the area. Meanwhile, a large number of TDP cadres gathered at the residence of Raghavendra Reddy and were planning to march towards Ramapuram when police personnel from Mantralayam, Kosigi, Madhavaram, and other police stations rushed to Ramapuram and Madhavaram to control the situation. Additional police forces have been deployed to prevent a possible face-off between cadres of the two parties.