YSR Congress Wins Big In AP Municipal Elections

The counting for Andhra Pradesh's recently-held municipal elections began at 8:00 am today. However, the counting of the votes polled in Eluru has been put on hold after the state's apex court issued a stay order on the same, and will take place only after the court's final verdict on the matter.

For the counting process, the election officials organised 4,026 tables. Out of this, 2,204 tables were set up for corporations while 1,822 were set up for municipalities. Also, 5,195 officials and 2,376 counting supervisors oversaw the counting for the corporations, and 7,412 officials and 1,941 counting supervisors did so for the municipalities. To ensure a violence-free and fair counting process, Section 144 was imposed at all the counting centres. More than 20,000 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order.

Following a stellar performance in the recent Panchayat elections in Andhra Pradesh, in which it secured about 80% of the total seats, the state's ruling party, the YSR Congress Party, has emerged a clear winner in these elections as well.

The party saw a landslide victory, winning all the 11 municipal corporations and 74 of the 75 municipalities. With its latest success, this is the third time the YSRCP has electorally annihilated its primary rival, former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's party, the TDP, in a span of just 21 months.

The results have dashed the TDP's hopes of reversing its fortunes after suffering a rather ignominious defeat in the Panchayat elections. Its huge losses in Vijayawada and Guntur too have left the party red-faced especially since this will significantly weaken its agitation to make Amravati a "dream state capital".

Meanwhile, the ruling party has claimed that its victory in Visakhapatnam is proof of the fact that the people of the city have welcomed Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's decision to make the city AP's executive capital.

In a statement, a jubilant YSRCP government stated that it had won the elections on the strength of its welfare programs.