Andhra civic polls: 48% turnout by 3 pm as Pulivendula clashes spark YSRCP repoll demand

Polling for urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday recorded a turnout of 48.03 per cent by 3 pm, while clashes between supporters of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Pulivendula overshadowed the day.

Voting was held from 7 am to 5 pm in 92 urban local bodies, including 13 municipal corporations such as Vijayawada and Greater Visakhapatnam. Reports said eight other bodies did not go to the polls because candidates there had been elected unopposed. About 96.89 lakh voters were eligible, and more than 10,000 candidates were in the fray.

Turnout higher in smaller towns

By 3 pm, about 46.5 lakh people had voted, The Hans India reported. Smaller towns ran well ahead of the cities: Gudur in Kurnool district recorded close to 74 per cent, while Greater Visakhapatnam was the lowest among the major corporations at 39.74 per cent. Vijayawada stood at 41.80 per cent and Guntur at 40.99 per cent. Final figures were awaited.

Police deployed 36,351 personnel at 4,372 locations across the state. About 1,000 of them were posted in Pulivendula, with CCTV cameras and drones watching sensitive spots.

Stone-pelting in Pulivendula

Pulivendula in YSR Kadapa district, the home turf of former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, was the main flashpoint. Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen confirmed that rival supporters threw stones at each other and said police were working to restore order. Journalists covering polling in the town were also attacked, and police registered a case, PTI reported.

Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged booth capturing and bogus voting, and claimed YSRCP polling agents were allowed into only 10 of the 80 booths in the municipality. He accused the police of siding with the ruling party and demanded that polling in Pulivendula be cancelled and held again in all 80 booths. YSRCP leaders also petitioned the State Election Commission in Vijayawada seeking repolls wherever voting was disrupted.

The TDP rejected the charges. Finance Minister P Keshav said the elections were conducted freely and that people who had long stayed away from voting turned out in large numbers, according to PTI. TDP MLC Varla Ramaiah told reporters the violence was "far from spontaneous" and blamed YSRCP cadres, ANI reported.

No response from the State Election Commission to the repoll demand had been reported by Sunday evening.

Why it matters

The civic polls are being closely watched as a test of the coalition's hold over towns and cities, and of whether the YSRCP can recover ground, particularly in its Kadapa stronghold.