Andhra Pradesh municipal poll vote counting begins amid tight security

Amaravati: Counting of votes polled in the municipal elections across Andhra Pradesh began on Tuesday morning amid tight security.

The counting of votes polled on Sunday in 92 urban local bodies (ULBs) began at 138 counting centres at 8 a.m. According to State Election Commission (SEC) officials, the first result is expected after 11 a.m. The poll body has deployed 47,817 officials and arranged 556 counting halls and 6,831 counting tables.

The SEC has also installed 1,372 CCTV cameras at strong rooms and counting halls to ensure transparency in the counting process.

Polling was held on Sunday in 13 Municipal Corporations and 79 of the 87 Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. According to the SEC, 62.16 per cent polling was recorded. Out of 96,89,061 voters, 60,22,411 voters cast their votes.

The electorate decided the fate of 520 candidates for the posts of mayors of Municipal Corporations and chairpersons of Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. The fate of 10,105 candidates for the posts of corporators and councillors was also sealed in the ballot boxes.

Elections for the posts of chairpersons of 17 Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats were unanimous. Both chairpersons and ward members were elected unopposed in eight Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats — Allagadda, Dachepalli, Darsi, Gurajala, Kamalapuram, Piduguralla, Proddatur and Rayachoti. The ruling coalition, NDA, bagged these posts of chairpersons and ward members.

As part of the seat-sharing agreement among NDA partners, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) contested the mayor posts in 10 Municipal Corporations, leaving two for the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and one for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Out of 70 posts of chairpersons for which polling was held, TDP fielded 49 candidates, JSP 17 and BJP four.

While the ruling coalition sought a public mandate to continue development and welfare schemes implemented during the last two-and-a-half years, the opposition YSR Congress Party highlighted the coalition’s failures.

The NDA is looking to repeat its performance of the 2024 general elections, while YSRCP is trying to bounce back after the humiliating defeat in the Assembly polls.

Polling for ULBs was originally scheduled for October 28 but was deferred following directions from the Supreme Court after violent incidents prevented several candidates from filing their nominations.