Andhra Pradesh municipal elections have turned tense in Kadapa district, with additional police forces deployed amid concerns of violence in Kadapa, Pulivendula and Jammalamadugu as rival political groups mobilise supporters. The contests are also being closely watched in the erstwhile Kurnool district, where major parties are campaigning aggressively for control of key civic bodies.
Polling is being held in Kadapa, Pulivendula and Jammalamadugu municipalities in YSR Kadapa district. Elections in Rajampet, Rayachoti, Kamalapuram, Badvel, Mydukur and Proddatur have already been declared unanimous. The Kadapa mayoral post and the Pulivendula municipality contest are attracting particular attention because Pulivendula is the home constituency of YSRC president and former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The Telugu Desam leadership is treating the elections as a prestige contest in the district. Jammalamadugu BJP MLA C.H. Adinarayana Reddy and TD leader B. Tech Ravi have been camping in Pulivendula for several days, seeking to defeat the YSRC in what has been regarded as one of its strongholds.
TD alliance candidates have secured unanimous victories in 20 of Pulivendula’s 40 wards, according to the report. In Kadapa Municipal Corporation, results in 50 of 66 wards have also been declared unanimous. In Jammalamadugu, four of the 32 seats have gone unanimously to alliance partners TD and Jana Sena.
YSRC leaders have alleged that the unanimous outcomes followed the prevention of their candidates from filing nominations in some wards. YSRC Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy said the party remained confident of winning the mayoral and chairperson contests if the elections were conducted freely and fairly. He also said YSRC candidates had faced hurdles during the nomination process but that voters would support the party.
TD leaders have cited the number of unanimous victories as evidence of support for their alliance. Rayalaseema TD coordinator R. Srinivasa Reddy said the alliance had achieved an unprecedented number of unanimous victories in Kadapa district and expressed confidence that its candidates would win the remaining wards and capture the Kadapa mayoral post.
The reported figures show the scale of the civic contests. Kadapa Municipal Corporation has 3.07 lakh voters, while Kurnool Municipal Corporation has 4.79 lakh voters. One ward in Kurnool and 50 wards in Kadapa have been listed as unanimously elected in the municipal corporation details provided in the report.
Municipal elections in the erstwhile Kurnool district are also witnessing intense competition. Atmakur and Allagadda municipalities in Nandyal district have been declared unanimous, while elections are being held in Kurnool, Adoni, Bethamcherla, Gudur, Yemmiganur and Nandyal, among other municipalities. The Kurnool mayoral and ward contests have become a prestige issue for Industries Minister T.G. Bharath, who has been campaigning for alliance candidates for the past 10 days.
Additional police deployment has been reported particularly in Pulivendula. The results of polling in the three Kadapa district municipalities are expected to determine control of important local bodies, while the contests in Kurnool district will test the strength of the competing political alliances in urban civic administration.
