The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has registered a sweeping victory in Andhra Pradesh's municipal elections, securing control of almost all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), according to results and counting trends declared on Tuesday night. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) together won the mayoral posts in seven municipal corporations, while their candidates were leading in five others. The opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) was ahead in one corporation.
The NDA also secured the chairperson posts in 73 municipalities and nagar panchayats, with its candidates leading in eight more. The YSRCP won the chairperson post in one municipality, while independent and other candidates secured victories in two places. YSRCP candidates were leading in two municipalities. The ruling coalition also won a majority of corporator and councillor seats.
Counting of votes polled on Sunday across 92 urban local bodies began at 8 a.m. on Tuesday at 138 counting centres. Elections were held in 13 municipal corporations and 79 of the state's 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats.
According to the State Election Commission (SEC), voter turnout stood at 62.16 per cent. Of the 96,89,061 registered voters, 60,22,411 exercised their franchise.
Among the prominent victories, TDP candidate Mukka Sravani was elected Mayor of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, the largest municipal corporation in the state. M. Srinivas Prasad of the TDP won the mayoral election in Tirupati, while party candidate K. Lakshmi Aparna secured the post in Guntur.
TDP's K. Hemalatha emerged victorious in the Chittoor Municipal Corporation mayoral election. Sheikh Abdullah Abida of the party was elected Mayor of Machilipatnam, while Vijaya Pratyusha won the mayoral contest in Kurnool.
The Jana Sena Party also secured a significant position, with its candidate Reddy Appalanaidu elected Mayor of Eluru Municipal Corporation in West Godavari district.
The elections for chairpersons in 17 municipalities and nagar panchayats were decided unanimously. In eight municipalities and nagar panchayats, both chairpersons and ward members were elected unopposed.
NDA seat-sharing arrangement
The results reflect the electoral understanding among the three NDA partners. Under their seat-sharing arrangement, the TDP contested mayoral elections in 10 municipal corporations, while the Jana Sena Party was allocated two and the BJP one.
For the 70 chairperson posts that went to polls, the TDP fielded 49 candidates, the Jana Sena Party 17 and the BJP four.
Reacting to the outcome, TDP Working President Nara Lokesh described the verdict as a mandate to serve rather than an occasion for celebration. In a post on X, he thanked voters for supporting the coalition and congratulated victorious candidates from the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP.
Lokesh said the results reflected public support for the government's performance over the past two-and-a-half years. He also acknowledged the collective efforts of leaders and workers from all three alliance partners.
"Now that the municipal elections are over, our only focus is service, for every citizen, beyond party lines," he said.
Emphasising that the coalition should remain humble, Lokesh said there was no room for arrogance and that retaining public trust was its real responsibility. He added that the government would work harder to fulfil people's expectations.
YSRCP alleges electoral irregularities
YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy accused the ruling coalition of resorting to alleged electoral malpractice at various stages of the municipal elections.
He also alleged that the police and the State Election Commission had acted in collusion with the NDA during the polls. The allegations were made as the ruling alliance celebrated its strong performance across the state's urban local bodies.
The results mark a major electoral gain for the TDP-led coalition in local urban governance, with the NDA securing mayoral and chairperson positions across a large number of municipal bodies.
