The YSR Congress Party has put up a good show in the second phase of the panchayat elections as the candidates backed by it won a majority of seats in south coastal Andhra Pradesh.
In Nellore district, 117 sarpanch candidates backed by the ruling party emerged victorious when compared to the 64 aspirants backed by the Telugu Desam Party in the elections held on Saturday on non-party basis.
In Prakasam district, 131 sarpanch candidates backed by the YSRCP won. As many as 103 aspirants supported by the TDP emerged victorious. Much of the gains for the TDP came from the panchayats in Addanki Assembly constituency, which the party had wrested in the 2019 general elections, even as the YSRCP swept the polls across the State. The TDP attributed the success to Addanki MLA Gottipatti Ravikumar as the candidates sponsored by the party won 25 sarpanch posts.
Team work lacking
Bickering and lack of team work in the Assembly segment are being cited as the reasons for the poor show of YSRCP-backed candidates.
Meanwhile, festive atmosphere prevailed at Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy’s camp office in Nellore as 112 winning candidates gathered there for celebrations.
The YSRCP-backed candidate won the sarpanch post for the first time in Battepadu panchayat. The winning margins went up to 85% when compared to about 60% in 2019.
