VIJAYAWADA: All hopes and efforts of the TDP to win the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) to showcase that the people wanted Amaravati as the sole capital of the state, went in vain as the party failed to put up a decent fight in the civic body elections and lost them to the ruling YSRC. Elections in the Machilipatnam civic body, which also went the YSRC way, were held for the first time after it was upgraded as a corporation. Apart from Vijayawada and Machilipatnam civic bodies, the YSRC also bagged all five municipalities and nagara panchayats in the district comfortably.
In the last VMC elections, there were 59 divisions, out of which the TDP won 37, the YSRC 20, and the CPM and the BJP one each. This time, the CPM was again restricted to one seat even as the BJP drew a blank despite its alliance with the Jana Sena.TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu had campaigned in the city for two days, covering every nook and corner. At one point, he even asked people why were they not revolting against the state government for taking their capital away from Amaravati. From the YSRC, it was the ministers and MLAs who led the campaign and focussed on the government schemes to win the popular vote.
The internal bickerings in the TDP with three of its leaders, former MLA Bonda Uma, MLC Buddha Venkanna and minority leader Nagul Meera, launching a tirade against Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) added to the troubles of the party. The YSRC, on its part, highlighted the same and successfully branded the TDP as a party that encouraged leaders from one community.The counting of votes was done in three rounds by dividing the 64 divisions into 23, 23 and 18. Even in the first round, the YSRC took the lead. TDP mayor candidate Kesineni Swetha from division 11 won with 1,783 votes against YSRC’s K Sobha Rajini.
As the counting proceeded, the TDP managed to win only five divisions--three in Vijayawada East, and one each in the Central and West Assembly constituencies. The YSRC won 18 divisions--four in Vijayawada East, and seven each in Central and West Assembly constituencies. In the second round, the YSRC continued its dominance and won 18 divisions--five in Vijayawada East, six in Central and seven in West segments; TDP bagged three divisions in Vijayawada East and two in Central segments.
APSFL chairman and YSRC leader P Gowtham Reddy’s daughter P Likitha, who contested from division 18, and a mayor aspirant from the YSRC, lost to TDP’s Veeramachineni Lalitha by a margin of 70 votes.
ALSO READ | Jagan wave in tact, Opposition blown away
In the third round, the YSRC won 12 divisions--five in Vijayawada East, three in Central and four in the West segments. CPI (M) opened its account by winning division 50 and the TDP bagged four divisions.
Another mayor aspirant from the YSRC, B Punyaseela, won from division 34 against the TDP’s M Vijayalakshmi. In Machilipatnam, the YSRC won 44 divisions out of the total 50, the TDP managed to clinch five and the JSP one. In Pedana and Nuzvid, the YSRC won a majority of the wards. In the three nagar panchayats, the party also secured a clean sweep.
YSRC wins 44 divisions in Machilipatnam
Elections in the Machilipatnam civic body, which also went the YSRC way, were held for the first time after it was upgraded to a corporation. The YSRC won 44 out of the total 50 divisions in the municipal corporation, the TDP managed to clinch five and the Jana Sena just one division.