The elections to the urban local bodies in East Godavari district are set to go down to the wire as the main opposition parties — the Telugu Desam Party and the Jana Sena Party — have fielded candidates in all eight municipalities and two nagar panchayats.
In Peddapuram municipality, which is a TDP bastion, the TDP has fielded candidates in all 29 wards, thus preventing the rulingYSR Congress Party from claiming unanimous victories from even a single seat.
In Mandapeta municipality, where 30 wards are going to the polls, Gollaprolu nagar panchayat (20 wards) and Yeleswaram nagar panchayats (20 wards), the TDP and JSP have fielded their candidates in all 70 wards, doing away with the possibility of a unanimous win in any of the wards in the three civic bodies.
According to East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy, a total of 13% (35 seats) of wards have unanimously elected its candidates among the 268 wards and the remaining 233 wards will go to polls on March 10.
All the 35 candidates unanimously elected are supported by the YSRCP. In Tuni municipality, candidates supported by the YSRCP were elected unanimously in 15 out of 30 wards. In Ramachandrapuram municipality, candidates supported by the YSRCP were elected unanimously in 10 out of 28 wards, shows the official report.
Ramachandrapuram town is the headquarters of Ramachandrapuram Assembly segment, a bastion of YSRCP and BC Welfare Minister Chelluboyina Venu Gopala Krishna.
Speaking to The Hindu , Peddapuram TDP MLA and former Home Minister Nimmakayala Chinna Rajappa said, “We have managed to field our candidates in all the local bodies. In places like Peddapuram, not even a single ward will be won unanimously.”
JSP Kakinada Parliamentary constituency in-charge Pantham Nanaji said that the party has fielded candidates mostly in Konaseema region, Samarlakota (13 wards), Peddapuram (11 wards) and Pithapuram. “The vote share received in the recent gram panchayat elections remains a driving factor for the party to contest from more wards in the urban body elections,” Mr. Nanaji said.
There will be no elections to the Rajamahendravaram Municipal Corporation due to a legal tussle over the proposed merger of the gram panchayats while the council is in force in the Kakinada Municipal Corporation.
