A day after the Telugu Desam Party put up an impressive performance in the municipal elections in Seemandhra, it was locked in a close fight with YSR Congress in Zilla Parishad elections while the Congress virtually faced a rout.
Counting of votes was taken up for 10,092 mandal parishad territorial constituencies and 653 zilla parishad territorial constituencies in the13 districts of Seemandhra for which elections were held in two phases on April 6 and 11.
The counting of ballot papers in all the counting centres is expected to go beyond midnight. As per the latest reports , TDP was leading with 3,998 MPTCs and the YSRC closely behind with 3,279 MPTCs. Congress, bearing the brunt of post-bifurcation blues, could muster a meagre tally of 117 MPTCs while Left parties bagged 24 MPTCs till last reports came in.
But when it came to zilla parishad territorial constituencies, the two main parties are heading for a photo-finish with TDP bagging 144 ZPTCs and YSRC with 114 ZPTCs.
While the TDP is leading in north Coastal Andhra, East and West Godavari and Krishna districts, YSRC is doing better in Kadapa, Kurnool, Prakasam, Nellore and in the rest, it is a neck and neck race.
Meanwhile, State Election Commissioner P. Ramakanth Reddy announced that repoll would be held for three MPTCs in Nellore and two in Eluru on May 18. In Kondapur ZPTC of Nellore, ballot papers in three boxes with 1,500 votes were damaged by termites. They were set aside and counting was taken up. If the majority of the winning candidate is less than 1,500 votes, then a repoll would be held, he added.
