Vangaveeti Radha heads for Mayor’s chair
In Short
The strong showing by the NDA was also reflected in the division-wise results, with its candidates winning 32 divisions so far.
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Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, JSP Mayor candidate, Vijayawada
Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) election counting witnessed high drama on Tuesday night, with NDA-backed Jana Sena Party candidate Vangaveeti Radhakrishna emerging as the frontrunner for the Mayor’s post with a commanding lead of 47,408 votes over his nearest rival.
The strong showing by the NDA was also reflected in the division-wise results, with its candidates winning 32 divisions so far. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) bagged 20 divisions, Jana Sena Party (JSP) 11 and the BJP one, while the YSRCP managed to secure one division.
The Mayor’s contest became the centre of attraction, with former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna representing the Jana Sena Party, former Mayor Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi contesting on behalf of the YSRCP and retired IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao entering the fray as an independent candidate backed by Left parties and the Congress. According to the counting figures available at 9 pm, Radhakrishna secured 89,783 votes out of 1,40,399 votes counted, while YSRCP candidate Bhagya Lakshmi polled 42,375 votes. Independent candidate Venkateswara Rao received 4,541 votes. Radhakrishna’s lead stood at 47,408 votes, indicating a clear advantage in the mayoral contest at that stage.
The counting trends generated considerable excitement among supporters of the NDA, who gathered around the counting centre to follow the developments. The VMC elections witnessed 19 candidates contesting for the Mayor’s post and 359 candidates in the 86 divisions.
Of the total 8,05,797 registered voters, 4,46,021 (54.35 percent) exercised their franchise.
