Andhra Pradesh: Ruling YSR Congress sweeps local body elections
The party secured a victory in 74 out of 75 municipalities.
The ruling YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday swept the local body elections by winning 74 out of 75 municipalities, NDTV reported.
Trends indicated that the party may win all the 12 municipal corporations. YSR candidates have so far won in Guntur, Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, Chittoor, and Tirupati and Ongole corporations. Counting is on in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada corporations. The YSR Congress has a lead in the two areas, according to the news channel.
In all, 12 municipal corporations, including Greater Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Vijayawada, and 75 municipalities and nagar panchayats, went to polls on March 10. In 90 of the 671 divisions of the 12 corporations, candidates had won without contest. In the municipalities and nagar panchayats, up to 490 wards had chosen the representatives unanimously.
YSR Congress Spokesperson Ambati Rambabu attributed the results to the party’s welfare schemes, The Indian Express reported. “The elections were held after two years of YSRCP governance and the results are a benchmark for the governance of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy,” Rambabu told the newspaper. “The massive results is due to the implementation of welfare schemes by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy despite coronavirus pandemic.”
The Telugu Desam Party crossed the double digit in just five urban local bodies, News18 reported. Bharatiya Janata Party and Jana Sena Party failed to achieve any significant gains.
The YSRCP contested this election on the back of its victory in the recently concluded panchayat polls where it bagged more than 80% seats, according to News18. Reddy’s party managed to make inroads into TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu’s bastion Kuppam Assembly constituency.