As the YRSCP alleges irregularities in polling and counting, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu says the results reaffirm voters' faith in NDATelugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu suffered a shocker five years ago when Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) stormed Kuppam, Naidu’s electoral citadel of about four decades in Andhra Pradesh.Now, Naidu’s party has extracted retribution by claiming the Pulivendula municipality and dominating the zilla parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTCs) and mandal parishad territorial constituencies (MPTCs) in local body polls in Reddy’s home-ground Kadapa district.While Kuppam in Chittoor district has been Naidu’s assembly constituency since 1989, Pulivendula was represented by the late Congress chief minister Y.S.

Rajasekhara Reddy earlier and, since 2014, his son Jagan Reddy.Of the 40 wards in the Pulivendula ULB (urban local body), the TDP won 34 wards in polls held on November 1 while the YSRCP managed only three despite Reddy camping in the town before and during the voting. Of the 16 ZPTC seats in Kadapa district that includes Pulivendula, the TDP bagged 12, the Jana Sena Party two and YSRCP two.

In 2021, when Reddy was in power, the YSRCP had breached Kuppam too as the party swept the ZPTC and MPTC polls statewide. In the November 2021 ULB polls, the TDP was defeated in the Kuppam municipality too, where the YSRCP won 19 out of the 25 wards and occupied the chairman’s post.Naidu had then charged the YSRCP of deploying bogus voters to subvert the mandate in Kuppam and other civic bodies.

The TDP chief had even accused then chief minister Reddy and his party leaders of “committing midnight murder of democracy by getting TDP polling agents and leaders arrested hours before the election”.Now, it is Reddy’s turn to make similar accusations. On November 3, when the ULB poll results were declared, Reddy posted on social media that Naidu, the police and the State Election Commission “have demonstrated how to win an election spectacularly by ensuring that the Opposition never gets a chance to compete”.Reddy charged that from filing of nominations to polling agents to the voting and counting itself, the various stages of the election were systematically compromised: in his words “hijacked, “obstructed”, “rigged”, “manipulated”.On November 1 too, Reddy staged a protest outside the returning officer’s office in Pulivendula, strongly objecting to YSRCP polling agents “being prevented from entering polling booths during the municipal election”.

On November 9, after the final tally of ZPTC and MPTC poll results emerged, Reddy posted on X again, calling Naidu “rigging master”.Rubbishing the accusations, TDP leaders say the results reaffirm Andhra Pradesh voters’ faith in Naidu and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).In a state that witnessed no bypolls in the past two and a half years, the local body elections are seen as serving as a mid-term assessment of the NDA government. Assembly polls are due in 2029.Naidu is elated with the results, terming it “as reflecting people's support for good governance”.

Speaking to the media in Amaravati on November 9, he said the NDA had demonstrated overwhelming dominance in the ULB elections: out of 100 mayor and chairperson positions, the alliance won 94, including 12 of the 13 mayor positions and 82 of the 87 chairperson positions. Of these, the TDP secured 70 mayor and chairperson positions, JSP 20 and the BJP four.

The Opposition YSRCP won only four and Independents two seats.The chief minister said the NDA won 575 of the 659 ZPTC seats, securing a lead in 27 of 28 districts. The YSRCP could win more ZPTC seats than the ruling alliance only in Alluri Sitarama Raju district.

The party failed to win even a single ZPTC seat in seven districts of Anakapalli, Konaseema, Kakinada, Markapuram, Palnadu, West Godavari and Visakhapatnam, noted Naidu.Naidu also dwelt on the results in Kadapa-Pulivendula, Reddy’s home turf. “In Pulivendula, we secured the municipal chairperson’s position with a majority of 13,875 votes, winning 37 of 40 wards. In Kadapa Municipal Corporation, we won with a majority of 65,588 votes, securing 64 of the 66 wards,” he said.“People in Kadapa district have put an end to rowdy politics,” Naidu said, adding that all nine ULBs in the district were won by the alliance while the YSRCP was restricted to only nine of 345 wards in the YSR-Kadapa district.As Reddy alleges irregularities in polling and manipulations in counting as having tainted the local body elections, Naidu said the results demonstrated that elections conducted democratically and freely would produce such welcome outcomes.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends