Hyderabad: The Telugu Desam party (TDP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is seen leading in 10 of the 13 municipal corporations and nearly 65 municipalities in Andhra Pradesh, even as counting remains underway across the 92 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
A victory in the ULB elections could be a mid-term shot in the arm for the NDA alliance, with the coalition completing 2.5 years in power in December.
Emphasising that the latest local body election results reflect a resounding endorsement of the TDP-led government’s good governance, Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, credited the victory to a unified leadership and a clear vision for development. Speaking at the TDP Central Office in NTR Bhavan, Mangalagiri Tuesday, Pemmasani highlighted that the massive mandate in the local elections stands as proof of the public’s faith in the coalition collective.
“The elections held across various regions from Srikakulam to Kuppam were peaceful, with the NDA alliance securing a decisive victory in over 90 percent of the contested seats,” Pemmasani said, while speaking to the media at the party office.
Counting was still underway at many stations at the time of filing this story at 6 pm Tuesday. The state election commission (SEC) said that counting began at 8 am Tuesday, except Prakasam and Bapatla districts where counting commenced at 11.30 am because of Cyclone Murasu, which caused a heavy downpour in these districts.
“The counting process will go on until midnight. Once it is completed, the SEC and the Directorate of Municipal Administration will be notified, who will declare the final outcome tomorrow,” an official in the Andhra Pradesh SEC office told ThePrint.
The NDA coalition in Andhra comprising the TDP, Jana Sena Party (JSP), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). The TDP has fielded candidates in 10 corporations, with the JSP fielding its representatives in Eluru and Vijayawada, leaving the Anantapur corporation for the BJP. The Opposition YSRCP is contesting all 13 mayoral seats.
In local municipalities and Nagar Panchayat chairperson elections, the TDP fielded its representatives in 49 seats, with the Jana Sena and BJP agreeing to contest in 17 and four seats respectively. The YSRCP contested all 70 positions where elections were held.
The ULBs went to polls on 1 November and votes are being counted in 3,186 wards at 138 centres. According to the state election commission (SEC) data published on its website, the election recorded a final voter turnout of 62.16 per cent. As per reports, the SEC has asked for tight policing in both Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada counting centres with mayors to these two corporations considered a tight contest between the NDA and YSRCP candidates.
More than 47,000 police personnel have been deployed while 1,372 CCTV cameras have been installed at strong rooms and counting halls to monitor the process, as per SEC reports.
The AP SEC had ordered a repoll in Polling Station 15/2 of Ward 15 of the Kadapa municipal corporation after it said that the booth was captured. In its note on 1 November, the SEC ordered a repoll the next day saying, “the poll process was vitiated and thereby depriving the voters to exercise their franchise.”
Kadapa and Pulivendula particularly considered the YSRCP founder YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s bastion, was faced with sporadic incidents of violence and arson with at least three cars, 10 motorbikes, and a tractor set ablaze by warring factions of the TDP and YSRCP cadres.
Additionally, repolling was also ordered in 12 wards across seven urban local bodies in five districts (including Kadapa) because of booth capturing and violence, the SEC said.
Reacting to the preliminary results on the counting day, YSRCP Scheduled Caste Cell State President TJR Sudhakar Babu declared 3 November a black day in Andhra Pradesh’s political history, stating that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had hijacked the entire municipal electoral process through police power, intimidation and TDP goons. Speaking at the YSRCP Central Office, he said Chandrababu had murdered democracy in broad daylight rather than seeking the people’s mandate through free and fair elections.
In the previous election held in 2021, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) swept the polls, winning all the 13 municipal corporation elections with its mayors across the state.
With the ULB elections done with, the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTC) and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC) elections, which were supposed to be held on 3 November were postponed and are slated to be held on 5 November, with the results to be declared two days later, a notification issued by the SEC on 28 October said.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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