VIJAYAWADA: The Opposition TDP has suffered a setback in the urban local body elections. Though it managed to win the Darsi civic body, get an equal number of seats in Kondapalli municipality and put up an impressive fight in Jaggaiahpet and Dachepalli, the party suffered its worst debacle in the Nellore Municipal Corporation as it could not win even a single corporator seat out of the total 54.
In an embarrassment to TDP chief and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, the opposition party had suffered a humiliating defeat in the election to Kuppam Municipality, the only urban civic body on his home turf. In the polls held in leftover civic bodies two days ago, the ruling party bagged 19 out of 25 wards in Kuppam Municipality, leaving the remainder to the TDP.
This is the first time the TDP has been trounced in Kuppam, considered a bastion of Chandrababu Naidu, who has been representing the constituency in the Assembly for six terms now. The defeat in the urban local body polls is seen as a major political setback for the TDP supremo as the party failed to win the gram panchayats and also local mandal parishad in the elections held a few months ago.
Even as the TDP leaders blame it on the alleged atrocities and highhandedness of the ruling party and misuse of official machinery for winning the elections in Kuppam, party cadre are not ready to believe them fully. “Unlike the elections to gram panchayats (held on non-party basis) and MPTCs and ZPTCs (TDP boycotted the polls), our party took the municipal elections a prestigious issue, particularly in Kuppam so as to send a message that Naidu’s home turf is intact.
Accordingly, both Naidu and Lokesh participated in campaigning and former Minister Amarnath Reddy, MLA Nimmala Ramanaidu and other leaders camped in Kuppam, monitoring the electioneering. Though the efforts of the party came in handy in preventing the unanimous election, the TDP failed to even put up a tough fight,’’ a TDP leader observed. He said there was a gap between the local leaders and cadre in Kuppam. Despite a drop in majority for Naidu in the general elections, neither Naidu nor the local leaders initiated any measures to plug the loopholes.
However, TDP leaders put a brave face challenging the Chief Minister and his ministers to seek a fresh mandate. TDP AP President K Atchannaidu said that Jagan should immediately dissolve the Assembly and go for the State election if his party really won in the civic polls with people’s support. If the YSRC would secure victory in the Assembly elections, then the TDP would accept its defeat and wind up its political operations.
TDP’s charge
TDP AP President K Atchannaidu alleged that the YSRC committed all sorts of election offences in Kuppam. The Jagan regime misused the police and election machinery. Truly speaking, the YSRC polls victory should be dedicated to the DGP for his total partiality and bias in favour of the ruling party, he said.