Andhra municipal polls: NDA sweeps key seats, TDP wrests Pulivendula from YSRCP

The alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP) and BJP is poised to register a sweeping victory over the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections, winning a majority of the 13 Municipal Corporations and 79 Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats that went to polls on November 1.

The YSRCP suffered a major setback in Pulivendula, a traditional stronghold of the YS Rajasekhara Reddy family, currently represented in the Assembly by his son and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is also the party president. 

In Pulivendula, after three rounds of counting, TDP candidate T Geetha Kumari defeated YSRCP candidate YS Prameelamma, aunt of Jagan Mohan Reddy, by a margin of 13,875 votes.

Geetha Kumari secured 25,434 votes out of the 37,992 votes polled, while Prameelamma received 11,559 votes. A total of 833 votes were declared invalid, while 166 voters opted for None of the Above (NOTA).

Before polling, TDP candidates had been elected unopposed in 20 of the 40 wards in Pulivendula Municipality. Of the remaining 20 wards, the TDP won 14, while the YSRCP secured three, the Jana Sena Party one and the BJP two.

The YSRCP had approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking directions to the SEC to conduct repolling in all wards of Pulivendula and suspend counting until the repoll. However, the court dismissed the petitions.

The TDP-led alliance also made significant gains in Kadapa Municipal Corporation, where TDP candidate Nellaturi Suvarna is poised to become Mayor.

In Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), the state’s largest municipal corporation, TDP candidate Mukka Sravani is likely to defeat YSRCP candidate Varudu Kalyani.

Jana Sena candidate Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, son of slain Congress leader Vangaveeti Mohan Ranga, is also likely to win the mayoral election in Vijayawada against YSRCP candidate Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi. Former IPS officer A B Venkateswara Rao, who contested as an independent with the backing of the Congress and Left parties, failed to make an impact.

NDA candidates are also leading in the municipal corporations of Chittoor, Eluru, Guntur, Kurnool, Machilipatnam, Nellore, Ongole, Tirupati and Vizianagaram.

The State Election Commission (SEC) had earlier declared 17 candidates unanimously elected as chairpersons of municipalities and Nagar Panchayats in Piduguralla, Gurajala, Dachepalli, Kanigiri, Nagari, Punganur, Rayachoti, Rajampet, Proddatur, Badvel, Mydukur, Gooty, Kamalapuram, Allagadda, Atmakuru, Darsi and Yerraguntla.

In eight municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, namely Allagadda, Dachepalli, Darsi, Gurajala, Kamalapuram, Piduguralla, Proddatur and Rayachoti, both the chairpersons and ward members were elected unanimously.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attributed the alliance’s performance to the people’s faith in its development- and welfare-oriented governance. He said the YSRCP had paid the price for failing to learn from its defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, however, alleged that the ruling alliance had secured its victory by preventing the Opposition from competing fairly. In a post on social media, he accused the ruling coalition of manipulating the nomination process, obstructing polling agents, rigging the polls, manipulating polling percentages and interfering with the counting process.

“You selected the candidates, but people never elected them. The need for electoral reforms has never been more obvious,” he said, describing the situation as “Jungle Raj”.

IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh said the election verdict was a mandate to serve rather than celebrate. In a post on X on Tuesday, he said the TDP-led alliance accepted the result with humility and viewed it as the people’s endorsement of its governance over the past two-and-a-half years.

Congratulating the victorious candidates and party workers of the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP, Lokesh said the government’s focus would now be on serving all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliations.

“There is no room for arrogance. Keeping the trust people placed in us is our real responsibility, and we will work harder than ever to deliver on their aspirations,” he said.

Meanwhile, cases have been registered against 72 YSRCP leaders, including Jagan Mohan Reddy and Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy, for alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct during Sunday's polls. The investigation is underway.