The NDA has secured a commanding victory in the Vijayawada-Guntur civic polls, winning the mayoral posts in both municipal corporations and 140 of their combined 162 wards. The result gives the Telugu Desam-led alliance control of the two major urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh.
Jana Sena candidate Vangaveeti Radhakrishna won the Vijayawada mayoral election by 1,30,912 votes, polling 2,65,968 votes against 1,35,056 for his nearest rival, YSRC candidate Rayana Bhagyalakshmi. Independent candidate Aluru Bala Venkateswara Rao finished third with 12,657 votes. Nineteen candidates contested the election.
Radhakrishna’s total included 949 postal ballots, compared with 424 received by Bhagyalakshmi. The NDA won 76 of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation’s 86 wards. The tally comprised 54 wards for the TD, 19 for Jana Sena and three for the BJP. The YSRC won eight wards, while the CPI(M) and an Independent candidate secured one ward each. TD candidate Veeramachaneni Lalitha was elected unopposed from Ward 64.
In Guntur, TD candidate Kovelamudi Lakshmi Aparna won the mayoral post with 2,08,925 votes. She defeated YSRC candidate Tadikonda Alivelu Venkata Nagapadma Sridevi, who polled 1,12,631 votes. Congress candidate Chopparapu Padmavathi secured 4,805 votes, while Reforms Party of India candidate Shaik Mohammed Jahirunnisa Begum received 3,637 votes.
The Guntur mayoral election recorded a turnout of 56.05 per cent. Of the electorate of 6,18,714, a total of 3,46,794 votes were polled. The election authorities counted 3,38,239 valid votes and declared 8,555 votes invalid.
The NDA won 64 of Guntur Municipal Corporation’s 76 wards. The TD secured 48 wards, Jana Sena won 13 and the BJP took three. The YSRC won 11 wards and an Independent candidate secured one ward.
Together, the results give the alliance 140 corporators across the two civic bodies, creating a clear majority in both councils. The distribution also gives the TD the largest representation, while Jana Sena and the BJP add to the alliance’s combined strength.
Control of the municipal corporations will determine the alliance’s numerical strength in council proceedings and its ability to steer civic decisions in the two cities. The new councils will oversee municipal administration and local urban services through the respective corporations. The results announced by the civic poll authorities establish the composition of both councils and the mayoral leadership of Vijayawada and Guntur.
