Watch: Telangana Congress Candidate Jeevan Reddy Slaps Woman For Supporting 'Flower' Symbol'

Lok Sabha Election 2024: Senior Congress leader and Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency?candidate,?Tatiparthi Jeevan?Reddy,?found himself in a controversy after slapping a woman who allegedly expressed her intention to vote for the 'flower' symbol in the upcoming May 13 election.?A video capturing the incident during a campaign circulated widely on social media on Friday.

The woman, identified as a worker under the rural employment guarantee scheme, was reportedly expressing her dissatisfaction with the Congress due to the absence of pension benefits, TOI reported.

The incident occurred in a village in the Armur Assembly segment, where Reddy?was campaigning?alongside other leaders. Vinay Kumar Reddy, who had lost the Assembly election from Armur, was reportedly accompanying the Congress candidate during the incident, as told by eyewitnesses to the publication.

Armur?is one of the seven Assembly segments within the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat.?In the forthcoming election,?the?Congress?has?fielded?Reddy against the incumbent MP, Dharmapuri Arvind of the BJP.

Voting for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, covering?10?states and Union?Territories,?is scheduled to?commence on May 13.?The?Lok Sabha elections of 2024?are being conducted across seven phases,?which started?on April 19,?followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.?Votes?counting will?be done?on June 4 for all 545 constituencies.

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In response to representations made by political parties and considering the heat wave conditions gripping Telangana, the Election Commission of India has extended polling hours for Lok Sabha elections in the state?scheduled on?May 13.

A gazette notification issued on Wednesday increased the polling time by one hour in 106 Assembly segments under 17 Lok Sabha constituencies.?Polling in these segments will now be held from 7?am to 6 pm,?instead of concluding at 5?pm. However, polling in 13 segments identified to have alleged Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in five Lok Sabha constituencies will conclude at 4?pm.

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