Punganur polls turn political flashpoint as YSRCP misses nomination deadline

Tirupati: The nomination process for municipal elections in the erstwhile Chittoor district ended on Sunday amid sporadic incidents, with the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) failing to file a single nomination in Punganur municipality in Annamayya district. In the remaining urban local bodies, including Chittoor Municipal Corporation, Nagari, Palamaner, Kuppam and Madanapalle municipalities, candidates from the ruling alliance and the YSRCP filed their nominations.

The Punganur elections became a political flashpoint, with the YSRC alleging that its candidates were being prevented from filing nominations. The party approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court and the State Election Commission (SEC), seeking intervention to ensure that its candidates could participate in the election process.

YSRC MP PV Midhun Reddy filed a house motion petition in the High Court, alleging that officials were refusing to accept nominations from his party’s candidates and that cases were being filed to intimidate them.

Speaking to the media after filing the petition, Midhun Reddy said the party was prepared to contest the elections and expressed hope that the court would issue favourable orders. He alleged that the developments were taking place at the direction of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh.

He also claimed that the ruling alliance was creating obstacles because it feared defeat in Punganur and Rayachoti.

The party sought equal opportunities for all candidates and requested the court to ensure that there were no hurdles to filing nominations. However, the nomination deadline expired before the YSRCP could file its papers, leaving the party without candidates in Punganur.

Meanwhile, police issued notices to Midhun Reddy and YSRCP MLA and former minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy on Sunday morning, asking them not to enter Punganur during the nomination process. Police said the move was intended to prevent law and order problems.

The YSRCP alleged that the notices prevented its leaders from reaching the town and affected its candidates’ ability to file nominations.

The TDP, meanwhile, completed its nomination process in Punganur, with party workers celebrating the development.

According to official figures, Punganur received 108 nominations for the chairperson and councillor posts across its 36 wards between October 16 and 18. Of these, eight were for the chairperson post, all filed by TDP candidates.

For the councillor posts, the TDP filed 78 nominations, Jana Sena 11, the BJP five, the CPI one, other parties one and independents four, taking the total to 100.

In Madanapalle municipality, which has 48 wards, a total of 410 nominations were filed during the three-day period. Of the 20 nominations for the chairperson post, YSRCP filed nine, TDP six, independents three, BSP one and the Congress one.

For the councillor posts, TDP filed 162 nominations, YSRCP 153, Jana Sena 26, BJP 14, BSP two, Congress one and independents 32, taking the total to 390.

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Pradeep Vennelakanti

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