Andhra Pradesh’s ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Sunday scored a landslide victory in the urban local body elections by winning in 11 municipal corporations and 73 municipalities.
The ruling party, which captured Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in all the districts, won the majority of the divisions. Barring a couple of municipalities where the main opposition, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), put up a fight against the YSRCP, the other opposition parties, including the Jana Sena Party (JSP) of actor-politician Pawan Kalyan and its ally BJP, were wiped out.
The ruling party bagged 11 corporations and 73 municipalities out of 75. Though the TDP won 12 wards and the YSRCP won 11 in the Mydukur municipality, the YSRCP candidate will become the Chairperson with ex officio votes.
The elections were held after two years of YSRCP rule and the results stand as a benchmark for the governance of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The massive results are being attributed to the implementation of welfare schemes by Reddy despite the Covid pandemic.
Observers feel that the Chief Minister has also paved the way for the development of urban bodies and the urban community has shown support for the policies of the YSRCP government with this landslide victory.
The win also came close on the heels of the YSRCP’s massive victory in the panchayat elections, where it won 80 percent of the seats.