Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) swept the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) and the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) election, the results of which, were declared on Sunday, 20 September. The party bagged a majority of the local body constituencies.
According to results declared by the State Election Commission, the ruling party won 604 out of the total 631 ZPTCs for which elections were held in April this year.
Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was a distant second with just six seats. Out of 659 ZPTCs, the election was unanimous for 126 seats while 11 candidates passed away since March 2020, when the poll process had started. The SEC withheld results in eight ZPTCs for various reasons.
The YSRCP made a clean sweep in all thirteen districts including Chittoor, the home district of TDP President and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The ruling party captured 90% of mandal parishads in the state.
This is the first time that a ruling party has won all the Zilla Parishads in the state.
In Chittoor, the YSRCP won all 33 seats for which elections were held. Similarly, it won all 34 seats in Nellore and 36 seats in Kurnool. In the Kuppam Assembly constituency represented by Chandrababu Naidu, the YSRCP won all four ZPTCs and 98% of MPTCs. The ruling party also won the MPTC in Naravari Palli, the native village of Naidu.
Clean Sweep in Elections
The YSRCP claimed that this landslide victory shows that even after two and a half years of rule, the influence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy remains unchanged. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had last week allowed counting of votes in the elections held in April this year, bringing curtains on a process which began in March 2020.
The elections were held on April 8. A single judge bench on May 21 had cancelled the ZPTC and MPTC elections while hearing a petition by a TDP leader that the four-week mandatory period of model code of conduct was not taken into consideration from the date of announcement of election scheduled to the conduct of elections. However, a division bench later stayed the order on an appeal filed by the state government and allowed the SEC to take up counting of votes.
The YSRCP, which came to power in May 2019, has made a clean sweep in elections held at all levels from Parliament and Assembly to municipal, panchayat and now ZPTCs and MPTCs.
'Vote for Good Governance'
Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy said that the victory in the ZPTC and MPTC polls is seen as a vote for good governance which is mainly welfare-oriented and added that the Chief Minister has gained people's trust by fulfilling election promises.
Thanking the people for their support, Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that the two-year governance of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy paved the way for triumphant victory in the ZPTC and MPTC polls.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he said that their responsibility has been increased with the back-to-back victories in local body elections, stating that people have proved once again that good governance will lead to victories. He said that it was a landslide for YSRCP in ZPTC polls by securing over 98% of the seats and all these results clearly portray the people's faith in the YSRCP government.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute)
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