YSRC sweeps polls in Kadapa

Kadapa: Kadapa district saw the ruling YSR Congress party sweeping the ZPTC and MPTC elections. It won 11 of the 12 ZPTCs. YSRCP candidates were unanimously elected for 38 seats out of 50 ZPTC seats in the district. The Telugu Desam won the Gopavaram Mandal ZPTC in Badvel assembly constituency.

Out of the 554 MPTCs, 432 had unanimous elections while polls had been held for 117 MPTCs and elections were put on hold at five places for various reasons. YSRC won 92 MPTCs, while the TDP won 11, the BJP 7 and Independent 5 seats. Counting stopped at two places as water was found in the ballot boxes.

Gangadhar Yadav, unanimously elected as the ZPTC candidate for the gender constituency in Pulivendula, died of a heart attack in April. Re-election to the ZPTC post would be held later.

The YSRC high command has finalised the name of Akepati Amarnath Reddy, a former MLA from Rajampet constituency, as the Kadapa Zilla Parishad chairman candidate. YSRC candidates have already been unanimously elected in 38 of the 50 ZPTC seats in the district and hence his inauguration as chairman is assured.

Amarnath Reddy is a staunch supporter of the YSR family. In 2009, he won the Rajampet MLA seat as Congress candidate. In the 2014 elections, he contested for the YSRC against then Telugu Desam candidate Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy, but lost by a margin of 11,000 votes.

In subsequent political developments, Meda Mallikarjuna Reddy joined the YSRC and contested the 2019 elections. Akepati worked for his success. He later aspired for the post of TTD chairman, but it went to Y.V. Subba Reddy, after which he was promised the post of Kadapa ZP chairman.