VIJAYAWADA/KADAPA: The Andhra Pradesh government has removed Kothamaddi Suresh Babu from the Kadapa Mayor post, accusing him of violating municipal rules to benefit his family’s business.
In its order (G.O.RT.No. 446) on Wednesday, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department claimed Suresh Babu violated the GHMC Act, 1955, by awarding civil works contracts worth Rs 55.64 lakh to Vardhini Constructions, a company owned by his wife, Jayasree, and son, Amaresh.
The controversy kicked off when Kadapa MLA Madhavi Reddappagari filed a complaint with the Vigilance and Enforcement Department, flagging what she called “huge irregularities” in Kadapa’s municipal contracts.
The department’s probe revealed that Vardhini Constructions, registered as a Class-V category contractor in 2023, bagged 10 projects under Suresh Babu’s watch.
Seven of these, including laying CC roads and desilting storm drains in the 12th and 29th divisions, were completed, netting Rs 33.65 lakhs. Three other contracts, like CC road works in Buddayapalli, are still pending.
The State government says this setup breaches Section 22-1(h) of the GHMC Act, which forbids elected members or their kin from having stakes in municipal contracts, labelling it a clear conflict of interest.
Suresh Babu, a YSRCP leader in his second mayoral term since 2021, got a show-cause notice on March 24, 2025.
In his May 7 response, he claimed he didn’t know about the contracts, which were under Rs 10 lakhs and handled by the Municipal Commissioner, not the council.
Suresh’s feud with Kadapa MLA costs mayor post
He also claimed the firm wasn’t even registered when he was elected, and any disqualification needed civil court action under Section 23-D. The state, unmoved, leaned on Section 679-B, which lets it remove mayors for flouting rules.
The entire episode took a legal twist when Suresh Babu challenged the notice in the AP High Court (WP No. 9197 of 2025). The court, on April 8, ordered the state to share all documents and gave him three weeks to respond.
He then filed a writ appeal (No. 519 of 2025), but on April 29, the court upheld the process, directing a hearing and a two-week buffer before any action. Suresh Babu got his day in court—or rather, a hearing with the Principal Secretary—but failed to bring new arguments, sealing his fate.
The real drama unfolded amid a fiery political feud after the NDA coalition’s rise. Suresh Babu, mayor from 2014-2019 and a BC community figure, butted heads with Kadapa MLA Madhavi Reddy, with both tossing corruption accusations.
Things heated up when Madhavi attended a municipal meeting led by Deputy Mayor Muntaz Begum, with a seat placed beside the mayor’s chair. Later, alleging that Kadapa city had turned into a “filthy dump” with garbage piling up, TDP activists and some residents threw garbage at the mayor’s house. This incident intensified the feud, leading to heated verbal exchanges.
Unable to digest the insult, the mayor ensured that in the next two municipal meetings, the MLA was not given a seat next to him but was seated among other members. Feeling humiliated, Madhavi Reddy expressed outrage in both meetings, engaging in heated arguments with the mayor and vowing to remove him.
Amid this, the MLA complained to the government, alleging that the mayor and his family members undertook municipal works in violation of the Municipal Act. Following an inquiry, the government sought an explanation from the mayor. Dissatisfied with his response, the government issued orders removing K Suresh Babu from the mayor’s post.