The police in Andhra Pradesh Thursday placed two candidates of ruling Congress party and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the state's Guntur district under house arrest to ensure peaceful polling.
M Venkataramana Rao, state minister for ports and airports and Congress party candidate from Repalle assembly constituency in Guntur district and his rival A. Satyaprasad of TDP were put under house arrest on the direction of the Election Commission. The order came following complaints that they were indulging in electoral malpractices.
Guntur district in south coastal Andhra is notorious for poll violence and clashes among rival political groups.
Polling is on in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies and 150 assembly segments in the second and final phase of balloting in the state.