YSRCP withdraws from Punganur municipality polls, alleges TDP violence

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) will not contest the Punganur municipality elections in Andhra Pradesh, citing violence and intimidation by the ruling party. The party said inadequate police security arrangements prevented its candidates from filing nominations before the deadline.

Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, the party’s MLA from Punganur, announced the decision at a meeting with supporters at his residence in Tirupati on Sunday, October 18. He said YSRCP candidates could not submit their papers without a “free and fair atmosphere” and alleged that rival party workers had used violence while security for his party’s candidates was inadequate.

The party failed to file any nominations in Punganur before the 3 pm deadline. YSRCP president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy accused the ruling coalition of using intimidation, violence and state machinery to obstruct Opposition candidates. He alleged that police and election officials had not acted impartially.

Punganur witnessed violent clashes between the YSRCP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members during the nomination process, in which YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy’s convoy was attacked allegedly by TDP cadres. 

YSRCP MP PV Midhun Reddy moved a house motion petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, alleging that officials had refused to accept his party’s nomination papers, and that cases were being filed elsewhere to intimidate its candidates. He said the party was ready to contest and hoped the court would intervene.

A Division Bench of Justices Ninala Jayasurya and Chintalapudi Purushottam Kumar dismissed the petition seeking additional time to file nominations. The court said it could not interfere with the election process after the notification had been issued and the stipulated deadline had passed. It asked the State Election Commission (SEC) to clarify its position on a separate request to let candidates who could not file nominations in their local areas submit them at district headquarters.

The SEC told the court that extending the deadline was not possible because scrutiny was scheduled for October 19 and the final list of candidates was due on October 21. Polling is scheduled for October 28, with counting on October 30. The court dismissed the petition as having become infructuous.

Meanwhile, the police issued notices to Midhun Reddy and Ramachandra Reddy on Sunday morning, asking them not to enter Punganur. Officials said that the measure was intended to prevent a breach of law and order. The YSRCP alleged that the restrictions hampered its candidates’ efforts to file nominations.

Official figures showed that 108 nominations were filed across Punganur’s 36 wards, including eight for the chairperson’s post, all by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The TDP filed 78 nominations for councillor posts; Jana Sena filed 11, the BJP five, the CPI and other parties one each, and independents four.

In other urban local bodies in the erstwhile Chittoor district, candidates from the ruling alliance and the YSRCP filed nominations. Madanapalle received 410 nominations across 48 wards: 162 from the TDP, 153 from the YSRCP, 26 from Jana Sena, 14 from the BJP, two from the BSP, one from the Congress and 32 from independents. The nomination process also concluded in the Chittoor corporation and the municipalities of Nagari, Palamaner, Kuppam and Puttur.