Counting for the Andhra Pradesh municipal election results 2026 began on Tuesday across 92 urban local bodies, with officials and polling agents reporting to designated centres under security arrangements across the state. The exercise covers 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and Nagar Panchayats, making it a major transition point for civic administration in Andhra Pradesh.
The elections were held on November 1, with polling conducted from 7 am to 5 pm. Repolling, wherever required, took place on November 2. Counting of votes in 66 municipal divisions had begun, according to the report by the Times of India.
In Visakhapatnam, election officials and polling agents arrived at a counting centre near Andhra University Engineering College, where preparations and security arrangements were in place. The 13 municipal corporations covered in the election include Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa and Tirupati.
Tirupati recorded the lowest polling percentage at 47% in the municipal elections. The turnout figure places attention on participation in urban local elections, which determine the representatives responsible for civic services and municipal administration in cities and towns.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation mayoral contest is among the closely watched battles. The candidates include NDA-backed Jana Sena nominee Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, YSR Congress Party candidate and former mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, and independent candidate A B Venkateswara Rao, a former Director General of Police.
The results are being viewed as a political test for the ruling National Democratic Alliance led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu after its victory in the 2024 Assembly elections. They are also expected to indicate the standing of the opposition YSR Congress Party in the state’s urban centres. Beyond party outcomes, the results will determine the political leadership overseeing municipal bodies responsible for local civic administration.
The counting process follows allegations raised by the YSR Congress Party in Pulivendula. The party alleged a discrepancy in polling figures, questioning how 681 votes were recorded under the ‘Others’ category when the official voter list reportedly had only 14 voters in that category. YSRCP president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met the Returning Officer in Pulivendula and submitted a representation alleging irregularities during polling.
Reddy also alleged that around 70 YSRCP polling agents were not allowed to enter polling booths and sought the Returning Officer’s intervention. After the meeting, he staged a sit-in protest outside the Returning Officer’s office in Pulivendula, demanding action concerning the party’s polling agents. These allegations remain claims made by the YSRCP in the supplied report.
The immediate next step is the completion of counting at centres across the 92 urban local bodies, followed by the declaration of results for the municipal corporations, municipalities and Nagar Panchayats covered by the elections.
