Visakhapatnam: Following a few dramatic scenes at the GVMC council hall, JSP candidate Dalli Govind Reddy has finally been elected as Deputy Mayor of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) unanimously.

If things went as planned, the Deputy Mayor would have been elected on May 19th itself. However, a majority of TDP corporators did not attend the voting exercise as their recommended candidate was not considered for the post. Due to their ‘no show’ at the GVMC council hall, Election Officer and Joint Collector Mayur Ashok had to put off the meeting.

On May 20, west constituency MLA PGVR Naidu (Ganababu) proposed JSP candidate Dalli Govind Reddy as Deputy Mayor, north constituency MLA P. Vishnu Raju extended support to the proposal. With 59 council members voting in favour of Govind Reddy, the Election Officer announced his name as the Deputy Mayor.

With the Mayor post allotted to the TDP, the JSP leaders aspired for the Deputy Mayor post.

Despite the alliance deciding the JSP candidate for the seat, a few TDP corporators distanced themselves from the voting exercise. However, this was viewed seriously by the party high command. On Tuesday, the members attended the meeting more than the required count.

Mayor Peela Srinivasa Rao, MLAs and ex-officio members congratulated the newly elected Deputy Mayor.