Alliance sweeps municipal polls across Godavari districts

Rajamahendravaram: The TDP-led alliance comprising the Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena and BJP registered a sweeping victory in the municipal elections across the combined Godavari region, capturing most of the 16 municipalities and the Eluru Municipal Corporation that went to polls in Kakinada, East Godavari, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, West Godavari and Eluru districts. The results reflected the alliance’s performance in the 2024 Assembly elections, with the YSRCP suffering setbacks across the region. In several municipalities, the opposition party failed to win a significant number of councillor seats, while the alliance secured clear majorities.

In East Godavari district, the alliance swept Mandapeta, Kovvur and Nidadavole municipalities. It won all 36 councillor seats in Mandapeta and all 28 wards in Kovvur. In Nidadavole, the alliance secured 28 of the 32 wards, while the YSRCP won three and an independent candidate secured one seat. Jana Sena candidate Murala Jyothi was elected chairperson of Nidadavole. TDP candidates Kanthamani Vijayalakshmi and Vegulla Ajay Kumar won the chairperson posts in Kovvur and Mandapeta respectively.

In Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, elections were held in Amalapuram, Mummidivaram and Ramachandrapuram municipalities. Jana Sena candidate Nalla Sridhar won the chairperson post in Amalapuram, where the alliance secured 30 of the 36 wards, while the YSRCP won six. In Mummidivaram, the alliance won 17 of the 23 wards, with the remaining six going to the YSRCP. Jana Sena candidate Gubbala Gangaratnam Bhavani was elected municipal chairperson. In Ramachandrapuram, TDP candidate Medisetti Sesharao won the chairperson post, with the alliance securing more than 26 of the 32 wards.

In Kakinada district, the alliance registered victories in the six municipalities. In Gollaprolu, alliance candidates won 19 of the 23 wards, while independent candidates secured the remaining four. Jana Sena candidate Kadiri Tammaiah Naidu was elected chairperson. In Pithapuram, Jana Sena candidate Danam Laser Babu won the chairperson post. Two TDP rebels, two YSRCP rebels and two independent candidates also secured ward seats in the municipality, which has 36 wards.

Samarlakota municipality went to the alliance, with Jana Sena candidate Pitta Janaki Ramarao elected chairperson. The alliance won 32 of the 36 wards, while the YSRCP secured four.

In Yeleswaram, TDP candidate Yarlagadda Akshita won the chairperson post in the 28-ward municipality. The YSRCP was leading in only four wards, according to the latest information.

In Peddapuram, TDP candidate Raja Suribabu Raju was elected chairperson. Out of the 32wards in the municipality Alliance secured 30 seats and the YSRCP managed to secure leads in only two wards, according to the latest reports.

In Tuni, the alliance captured 28 of the 36 wards, while the YSRCP won eight. Jana Sena candidate Saragadam Srilatha was elected chairperson.

In West Godavari district, the alliance secured victories in Akividu and Narasapuram municipalities. TDP candidate Shaik Nilofar was elected chairperson of Akividu, which has 28 wards, with the alliance winning a majority. In Narasapuram, the alliance captured the 36-ward municipality, with Jana Sena candidate Kottapalli Sailaja elected chairperson.

The alliance also registered victories in Eluru district. In Jangareddygudem, TDP candidate Rongali Anusha won the chairperson post, while alliance candidates secured 32 of the 36 wards. The YSRCP won three seats and an independent candidate secured one.

In Nuzvid, the alliance won 23 of the 36 wards, while the YSRCP secured 12 and an independent candidate won one seat. The Eluru Municipal Corporation also went to the alliance. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the corporation was allotted to Jana Sena, whose candidate Reddy Appalanaidu was elected mayor. Alliance candidates had won more than 30 divisions by the time the final information was received.

The results across the five districts gave the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP control of a large number of urban local bodies in the Godavari region, while the YSRCP secured victories in a limited number of wards. As per the seat-sharing arrangement among the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP, which contested the municipal elections as an alliance, the 16 municipalities were equally divided between the TDP and Jana Sena, with each party allotted eight chairperson posts. The Eluru Municipal Corporation mayor’s post was also allotted to Jana Sena, which secured the post with its candidate Reddy Appalanaidu.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deekshitula Subrahmanyam

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Deekshitula RV Subrahmanyam is a Staff Reporter with The Hans India, covering the erstwhile East and West Godavari districts, along with Alluri Sitarama Raju and Polavaram districts. A journalist with experience of over three decades, he began his career as a Telugu mofussil reporter in 1991. He writes extensively on politics, tribal affairs, rural development, tourism, development, and human-interest stories He is the author of the six-part Telugu prose Ramayana Sitarama Kathasudha and has received several literary and journalistic honours, including the JCI Young Writer Award, Vadlamudi Rammohan Rao Memorial Award and Madduri Annapurnayya Memorial Award.

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