Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led alliance won seven of the 13 municipal corporations and was leading in another five in the early hours of Wednesday. It bagged 75 out of 86 municipalities and nagar panchayats. The bloc was leading in six municipalities.
The Opposition Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), which won all 13 municipal corporations in 2021, appeared set to win one (Anantapur municipal corporation). Of the district’s 279 municipal wards, the YSRCP won just seven. In Pulivendula municipality of the district, Reddy’s home constituency, TDP’s chairperson candidate Tugutla Geetha Kumari won by a margin of 13,875 votes. The ruling alliance candidates won 17 of the 20 wards that went to the polls. The state went to municipal polls on November 1, and counting votes began on Tuesday. TDP fielded 13 mayoral candidates, Jana Sena Party two, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) one. The YSRCP contested all 13 mayoral positions.
Vote counting for the Chirala municipal corporation was postponed until Friday due to Cyclone Murasu-induced heavy rains. In YSR Kadapa district, the party’s bastion and the home district of its president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the party suffered a major setback. The TDP-led alliance bagged six municipalities in the district uncontested. The YSRCP managed to win only three wards. The alliance emerged victorious in seven other municipalities across the district. The ruling alliance called the results a reflection of the people’s faith in its leadership, while the YSRCP alleged manipulation of the election process.
TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao said the sweeping results are a clear reflection of the people’s faith in the leadership of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, his deputy Pawan Kalyan and minister Nara Lokesh, besides the state BJP leadership.
