Over 46,000 candidates in fray for 9,829 MPTC seats

A total of 46,045 candidates have been validly nominated for elections to 9,829 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) seats across 28 districts of Andhra Pradesh as of Saturday, according to the data released by the State Election Commission here on Sunday.

The data shows that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has the highest number of candidates at 19,760, followed by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) with 17,726. Jana Sena Party (JSP) has fielded 4,330 candidates, while 2,012 independent candidates are also in the fray.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 1,049 candidates, while Congress has 439 and CPI(M) has 353. Other parties and candidates include BSP with 155 and AAP with two candidates.

Among the districts, Srikakulam recorded the highest number of validly nominated candidates at 2,806, followed by Vizianagaram with 2,511 and Anakapalli with 2,394. Eluru district reported 2,310 candidates, while SPSR Nellore recorded 2,231 and Tirupati 2,177.

Visakhapatnam district reported the lowest number of candidates at 353, reflecting the comparatively smaller number of MPTC seats going to polls there.

In the parallel elections to Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs), 4,770 candidates have been validly nominated for 659 seats across the State. The TDP leads with 1,693 candidates, followed by the YSRCP with 1,445 and the JSP with 587. The Congress has 316 candidates, while 227 independents are in the fray.

The figures indicate substantial electoral competition across the State, with candidates from major political parties, smaller parties and independent groups preparing to contest the local body elections.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India