VIJAYAWADA: A total of 46,045 nominations for 9,829 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) seats have been found valid after the completion of scrutiny for the local body elections.
Of the total nominations for MPTC seats, 19,760 are filed by TDP candidates and 17,726 by YSRCP nominees. As many as 4,330 nominations filed by JSP candidates, and 1,049 by BJP nominees have also been found valid.
When it comes to Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) elections, a total of 4,770 nominations have been found valid for 659 seats. Of the total, 1,693 nominations are filed by TDP candidates, and 1,445 by YSRCP nominees. As many as 587 nominations filed by JSP candidates and 227 by BJP nominees have also been found valid after the scrutiny.
Srikakulam district stood top with 2,806 valid nominations for MPTC seats, while Visakhapatnam figured at the bottom of the list with 353 nominations. With 280 valid nominations for ZPTC seats, Tirupati district topped the list, while Visakhapatnam with 46 nominations came at the bottom.
The reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh’s 13 erstwhile districts into 28 districts has reshaped the structure of MPTCs and ZPTCs. The elections are being held for the first time after the reorganisation of ZPs.
YSR Kadapa Zilla Parishad has emerged as the largest in the State with 39 mandals, while Visakhapatnam ZP has become the smallest, comprising just four mandals.
Alliance partners yet to seal seat-sharing deal despite end of nomination scrutiny
Interestingly, despite its limited jurisdiction and only four ZPTC seats, Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad has substantial assets, a camp office and several other facilities.
The undivided Visakhapatnam district had 39 ZPTC seats before the reorganisation. Following the creation of Anakapalli and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts, Visakhapatnam district was left with four mandals outside the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits.
The four mandals of Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad include Padmanabham, Anandapuram, Bheemunipatnam and Pendurthi. Of these, three mandals fall within Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency, leaving the new Zilla Parishad with a much smaller geographical and electoral footprint than its predecessor.
Focus on avoiding vote split
Even as the process of filing nominations and scrutiny for the MPTC and ZPTC elections has been completed, the seat sharing among alliance parties TDP, JSP and BJP is yet to be finalised. With alliance candidates remaining in the fray for several seats, top leadership of the three parties have focused on completing the seat sharing at the earliest so as to make the withdrawal of the candidates complete before the deadline to avoid split of votes within the NDA. Though JSP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan met TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu twice, there seems to be no progress in the seat sharing for the MPTC and ZPTC elections.