The Hyderabad police on Monday registered an FIR against Madhavi Latha, BJP’s Hyderabad constituency candidate, for allegedly trespassing into a polling booth and asking some Muslim women voters to remove their burqa for identity check.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation commissioner, Ronald Rose, who is also the returning officer for Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency directed the Malakpet police to register an FIR against Madhavi Latha under Sections 186 (voluntarily obstructing a public servant from discharging of duties), 171C (voluntarily interfering in the exercise of electoral right) and, besides Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act, 505 (1)(c) (circulation of a statement with an intent to incite a class or community of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Earlier during the day, the BJP candidate visited a polling booth (No. 122) at Azampura in Malakpet assembly segment and started asking the Muslim women voters about their identity. A video of Madhavi Latha asking the Muslim women voters to remove their veil to disclose their identity has gone viral and is circulating on social media platforms. She was trying to verify if the faces of the women voters matched the photos on their voter ID Cards.

Madhavi Latha took to her social media handle on X and posted  that there were many discrepancies in the voters’ list and as a result, she came there to verify the same. The Police officers stationed at the polling booth seemed very dull, they were not at all active. She added that they were not checking anything.

She said senior citizen voters were coming here but their names had been deleted from the list. She also pointed out that a few of them are residents of Goshamahal but their names are in the list of Rangareddy. Madhavi Latha defended her decision and told the media that there was nothing wrong in her move to ask some women voters to verify their identity.

video of YSR Congress MLA A. Sivakumar went viral, in which he can be seen slapping a voter for objecting to the legislator skipping the line at a polling booth in the Huderabad’s Guntur district. The voter and the YSR Congress MLA are shown slapping  each other in the video, which was posted by BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla. Following this, the voter is thrashed by the MLA’s supporters.

In the viral video, the MLA is seen getting violent with the voter and as he slaps him across the face. During the ten second video, it can be seen that no security personnel interfered in between or to rescue the voter. Other voters in the queue were seen trying to help the voter as the MLA’s supports are continuously hitting the voter.

The MLA of the current ruling party is receiving backlash on social media. Netizens are shaing  the video and describes it as an ugly show of political muscle power.  However, YSR Congress Party MLA Abdul Hafeez has described the video as a ploy to defame the ruling party. He also mentioned that the party is reviewing the viral video. The official social media handles of the party have even shared visuals of the injured supporters and employees of the party and have claimed that they were attacked by TDP members.

However, it is not clear what exactly happened before the exchange of blows began, but the MLA’s attack on the voter has come under strong criticism on social media.

According to sources, TDP has filed a complaint about the incident with the Election Commission. The Andhra police are already submitting formal complaints on the event.

The Election Commission has mandated a thorough investigation into the claimed assault on a voter waiting in line at polling place 115 of Ithanagar in the Tenali Assembly Constituency in the Guntur district this morning by incumbent MLA Sivakumar of the YSR Congress.

Voting is taking place today for 175 Assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh.

Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi spoke about a number of constituency-related concerns during a rally in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, today alongside party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. However, during the rally when someone asked Rahul Gandhi, about his marital status, he replied humorously.

Rahul Gandhi responded the question with a smile and said, now he will have to do it soon (Ab jaldi hi karni padegi). The occasion was dominated by serious political conversation, but this reaction brought a lighthearted moment.

Addressing the rally, Rahul Gandhi highlighted his family’s longstanding association with Raebareli. He emphasized the century-old historical connections, pointing out Raebareli’s crucial influence on the development of Indian politics.

During the rally, the Congress MP also made a commitment to farmers, saying, his first job will be to waive off loans of poor farmers if the Congress-INDIA bloc comes to power at the Centre.

On May 3, the Congress declared Rahul Gandhi as a candidate from Rae Bareli and loyalist KL Sharma as a candidate from Amethi, removing Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi from the race.

Meanwhile, before handing the reins to Rahul in 2004, Sonia Gandhi contested and won from Amethi in 1999. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has won Raebareli three times before Sonia Gandhi. In 1952 and 1957, the constituency also elected Indira Gandhi’s husband and Congress leader Feroze Gandhi.

In Wayanad, Kerala, Rahul Gandhi is the current Member of Parliament and is contending for election from Rae Bareli. Rahul was Amethi’s representative from 2004 to 2019. In Rae Bareli, he will take against the three-time MLC BJP MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh.

On May 20, the fifth phase of elections will take place in the Rae Bareli constituency. With 5,34,918 votes, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi won the constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. With 3,67,740 votes, her nearest opponent, Dinesh Pratap Singh, mounted a strong fight.