NDA’s local poll gains reflect public acceptance of A.P. govt. performance, says Naidu

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday attributed the NDA’s performance in the local body elections to public acceptance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition government’s governance, claiming that its support had increased across rural and urban areas compared with the 2024 Assembly elections.

Citing the vote-share figures, he said the NDA had secured 58.9% of the votes against 55.3% in the Assembly elections, an increase of 3.6%. The YSR Congress Party’s share had declined from 39.81% to 33.56%, widening the gap between the two sides to 25.34%, he said.

The NDA secured 59.9% of the votes in urban areas against 34.3% for the YSRCP. In the parishad elections, the alliance polled 57.6% against 39.7% for the opposition party, according to the Chief Minister.

Mr. Naidu said the NDA had won 575 of the 659 ZPTC seats and established a lead in 27 of the State’s 28 districts. In urban local bodies, the alliance secured 94 of the 100 mayoral and chairperson posts and won 3,233 of the 3,941 wards. The YSRCP secured 558 wards and four urban local bodies, he said.

Seeking to counter allegations of electoral irregularities, Mr. Naidu described the polls as peaceful and cited the postal ballot results as evidence of support among government employees. He said the outcome reflected voting patterns across geographical and social divisions.

The Chief Minister also sought to project reduced election expenditure as a departure from conventional political practices. Heavy spending by candidates, he said, could create pressure to recover the money after assuming public office. The NDA wanted to promote a political culture centred on public service rather than money power, he added.

However, he acknowledged the alliance’s poor performance in Anantapur and said the reasons would be examined. The party would take stringent action against those found responsible for the setback, he said, without specifying the nature of the proposed action.

Mr. Naidu reiterated that the three alliance partners were committed to working together and stressed the need to uphold the coalition spirit. The results, he said, would not be an occasion for complacency but should encourage elected representatives and party workers to remain focused on public service.