The Telugu Desam-led NDA alliance was leading or had secured victories in most Andhra Pradesh urban local bodies as counting continued, with the alliance ahead in 10 of the state’s 13 municipal corporations and winning a majority of declared corporation divisions, according to results available from the State Election Commission on Tuesday. Final results had not been officially released when the report was filed.
The State Election Commission had notified elections to 100 urban local bodies, comprising 13 municipal corporations and 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Counting was taken up across the state, with results announced through the day. Eight urban local bodies had already been declared elected unanimously, while 17 municipal and nagar panchayat chairperson posts were also declared unanimous earlier.
In the municipal corporation contests, Telugu Desam candidates were listed as winners or leading candidates in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Machilipatnam, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, Kadapa and Kurnool. Jana Sena candidates were listed in Vijayawada and Eluru, while the YSRC candidate listed for Anantapur was B.C. Ramesh Goud.
The corporation-level division figures showed the Telugu Desam winning 514 of the 794 divisions for which results were available. Jana Sena had won 120 divisions, the BJP 36, the YSRC 90 and other candidates 34. These figures represented the results available during counting and did not constitute the final statewide tally.
The alliance also led in the smaller urban local bodies. Of the 86 municipalities and nagar panchayats for which results were available, the Telugu Desam had won 59, Jana Sena 18 and the BJP four. The YSRC had won three, while other candidates had secured two.
At the ward level across municipalities and nagar panchayats, the Telugu Desam had won 1,838 of the 2,712 wards for which results were available. Jana Sena had won 328 wards, the YSRC 349 and the BJP 103. Other candidates had secured 94 wards.
The results will determine the political composition of urban local bodies responsible for core civic functions, although the report did not include details of council formation, chairperson selection or the allocation of municipal portfolios. The available figures also did not provide a final party-wise result for all 100 notified urban local bodies.
Supporters of winning candidates celebrated in several locations by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. Celebrations continued despite rainfall in parts of the state. The State Election Commission’s final results remained awaited as counting and result declarations proceeded.
