Stage set for local elections in Srikakulam, Amadalavalasa, Rajam; nominations to be held on November 14–16

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The stage is set for local body elections in Srikakulam, Amadalavalasa and Rajam towns of the North Andhra district on November 26, 2026.

The nomination process will be held between November 14 and 16 in the respective towns. The elections were not held in these towns on November 1st, 2026, due to legal and administrative issues related to the merger of nearby villages and areas in their respective civic bodies.

Srikakulam civic body which was established in the year 1856 is one of the oldest civic bodies of the country. Elections in the town have not been conducted for the last 15 years due to strong objections from nearby villagers to the merger with the corporation.

As the government has overcome all the hurdles, the election will take place in two weeks. Jana Sena Party’s Srikakulam general secretary and senior doctor Daneti Sridhar’s wife, Daneti Radha Rani, is the mayoral candidate of the NDA, which allocated Srikakulam seat to JSP as part of its agreement.

Former TDP MLA Gunda Lakshmi Devi, who joined YSRCP recently is the mayor candidate of the Opposition party. The election turned interesting as both NDA and YSRCP had taken the election as the major challenge.

Both parties are trying to woo influential persons to join their parties, ahead of the elections. APNGO’s former State Associate President Chowdary Purushottam Naidu joined TDP. NDA is likely to offer a deputy mayor seat to the Kalinga Komati community and field family members of former municipal chairperson Andhavarapu Varaha Narasimham (Varam) as corporators.

Former minister and YSRCP senior leader Dharmana Prasada Rao took up the election as a challenge and made Ms. Lakshmi Devi to join YSRCP.

Ms. Lakshmi Devi who was denied an Assembly ticket in the year 2024 joined YSRCP with the suggestion from Dharmana family. Both NDA and YSRCP are likely to field strong candidates in all 60 divisions. The election will be held in Amadalavalasa, an adjacent town of Srikakulam district. The selection of the candidates is yet to be done by major political parties.

Rajam, the industrial town of Vizianagaram, is gearing up for the election after a gap of 21 years. NDA allocated the seat to the JSP here, prompting the TDP to register its protest.

The local TDP leaders who are hopeful of the allocation of the seat to TDP camped in Vijayawada to convince the high command for the seat. Rajam TDP MLA Kondru Murali Mohan has reportedly requested the high command to consider the allocation of the seat to JSP. YSR Congress Party, which won the Rajam Assembly seat in 2014 and 2019, is keen to prove its strength in local body elections.

election / politics / Andhra Pradesh / National Democratic Alliance