The ruling YSRCP has swept the municipal elections across the state, riding high on chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s welfare schemes and winning 73 of the 75 Municipalities and all 12 Municipal Corporations and claiming that the people of all three regions have supported the three capital plan.
The TDP came a distant second with BJP riding piggyback on the popularity of its ally Jana Sena. The YSRCP claimed that this was the third straight win for YSRCP over TDP after the crushing defeat in general elections of 2019 followed by Panchayat elections held last month. The municipal elections were held after two years.
A confident CM didn’t even campaign for the municipal polls or issued any appeal to the people to vote for YSRCP. “It is clear from the poll results that the people of all three regions and Amaravati are in favour of three capitals,” claimed party MP Vijayasai Reddy who campaigned extensively in Vizag.
TDP which was banking for good results in Krishna and Guntur districts stumbled despite the ongoing agitation by farmers of Amaravati and YSRCP succeeded in winning all the municipalities and corporations in the two districts with a huge margin.
Moreover, YSRCP has alleged TDP tried to take advantage of the privatization of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. However, the victory in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is being upheld as evidence of people’s support for the CM’s proposal to make Vizag the executive capital of the state.
YSRCP swept Tirupati Municipal Corporation, Naidupeta, Sullurpet and Venkatagiri municipalities ~ significant as polls are round the corner for Tirupati Lok Sabha seat after the death of YSRCP’s sitting MP B Durgaprasad Rao.
Of 125 divisions and wards in these four towns YSRCP won 121 while TDP won three and BJP one. BJP has high hopes of securing this Lok Sabha seat and has convinced ally Jana Sena to leave this seat for it.
Both TDP and BJP have played Hindutva card in the past few months raising issues like attacks on temples and alleging that the chief minister was favouring spreading of Christianity in the state.
Buoyed by the election results chief minister’s advisor S Rajiv Krishna took a dig at BJP co-in-charge in the state, Sunil Deodhar who had spoken of Reddy’s declining popularity. Deodhar hit back on Twitter alleging: “You think winning by snatching ballot papers, abuse of power, cancelling nomination of Opposition candidates, making officers forge signs of candidates and overall rowdyism is an actual victory?”