Vijayawada’s mayoral election received four nominations while 419 papers were filed for ward-member posts across five urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh’s NTR district, according to election figures released on October 17 as preparations continued for the state’s second ordinary municipal elections.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) received four nominations for the mayor’s post. One was filed by the Aam Aadmi Party and three by independents. No nominations were recorded under the Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, Jana Sena, BJP or Congress for the mayoral position at that stage.
Across the five urban local bodies, nine nominations were filed during the day for mayor and chairperson posts, taking the cumulative total to 10. Tiruvuru received two nominations, Nandigama three and Jaggaiahpet one, while Kondapalli recorded none. Vijayawada accounted for the remaining four nominations.
The ward-member nomination process drew considerably higher participation. Vijayawada recorded 261 papers, followed by Tiruvuru with 67, Nandigama with 38, Jaggaiahpet with 37 and Kondapalli with 16. Together, these figures brought the district-wide cumulative total for ward-member nominations to 419.
Party-wise, the YSR Congress accounted for 187 ward-member nominations and the Telugu Desam for 144. Jana Sena candidates filed 46 nominations, while the BJP recorded seven. The CPI filed six, the Congress and CPM three each, the Aam Aadmi Party one, and independents 22.
The figures indicate that Vijayawada is the main centre of nomination activity among the five urban local bodies, both for the mayoral post and ward-member contests. The distribution also shows that participation for ward-level representation is substantially broader than the nominations recorded for the top municipal posts.
NTR district election observer S. Nagalakshmi, an IAS officer, inspected the office of the returning officer for the Vijayawada mayoral election at the VMC headquarters on Saturday morning. She was accompanied by VMC commissioner H.M. Dhyanachandra and reviewed facilities for candidates, the availability of nomination forms, record maintenance and arrangements for receiving papers.
Nagalakshmi sought details from officials on the nominations received and the procedures being followed to ensure compliance with election rules. She also reviewed election arrangements for all 86 divisions of the VMC. Additional commissioner and election nodal officer A. Ravindra Rao and other election staff participated in the inspection.
