Amaravati: Pulivendula voted. That one line explains the Andhra Pradesh result better than any tally.
The Zilla Parishad territorial constituency in Kadapa district, held by the YSR family for two decades, went to the TDP. Its candidate Bharathi won by 1,463 votes, in the assembly segment of former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
By the time the State Election Commission's figures came out late on Saturday, the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance had won 473 of the 611 ZPTCs declared and 5,819 of 9,640 Mandal Parishad seats. The TDP alone took 384 ZPTCs, Jana Sena 70 and the BJP 19. The YSR Congress was left with 57 ZPTCs and 1,583 MPTCs. Results in 48 seats are pending.
The arithmetic has consequences. The alliance is set to name the chairperson in 27 of the state's 28 zilla parishads. The YSRCP is likely to hold only Alluri. In Kadapa, it won two of 39 ZPTCs.
Turnout was 70.72%, up 9.81 percentage points from 2021. Five mandals voted on November 6 after Cyclone Murasu, and repolling was ordered at seven stations after complaints of irregularities.
Reddy did not concede quietly. On X he alleged the ruling party had subverted the process from nominations to counting, and that officials were pressured to alter results in several districts. Naidu, he said, may have won on the strength of office but had lost the moral argument. In Tirupati, former minister R.K. Roja protested outside a counting centre demanding a recount of the Illathuru MPTC, and was seen in tears at Vijayapuram after her candidate lost by three votes. Former MLA Jakkampudi Raja was arrested after a dharna in East Godavari.
Union minister Nara Lokesh called the outcome "the fruits of their good governance and proof of the perfect coordination among the ruling parties". Roads and Buildings Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy said the opposition should accept the mandate.
The newly elected members will now choose the district parishad chairpersons, and with those posts the control of village-level development funds for the years ahead.