YSRC workers joined the Telugu Desam in Srikakulam on Saturday, ahead of the municipal corporation elections. (DC Image)

Srikakulam: Around 400 YSRC workers joined the Telugu Desam in Srikakulam on Saturday, ahead of the municipal corporation elections, in the presence of Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and Srikakulam MLA Gund Shankar.

Polling will be held on November 26 and counting on November 30.

Welcoming the newcomers at the TD district office, Atchannaidu accused successive governments of deliberately delaying corporation elections for 16 years to protect their political interests.

He called on NDA alliance leaders and cadres to work together to ensure victory in the forthcoming polls.

The delay in elections dates back to 2010, when the term of the elected municipal council ended.

The TDP had won the municipal elections in 1995 and 2000, while the Congress secured a majority in 2005.

The controversy over the town's expansion further delayed the election process.

In February 2012, the then Congress government issued GO No. 30 proposing the merger of seven surrounding gram panchayats with the municipality.

The proposal faced opposition from the affected villages, which approached the courts, leading to prolonged disputes over municipal boundaries and ward delimitation.

In November 2015, the then Chandrababu Naidu-led TD government decided to upgrade Srikakulam municipality into a municipal corporation.

However, the move did not immediately resolve the legal and administrative hurdles, and the town continued without an elected council.

The deadlock was broken following an Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment on October 1, 2026.

The court dismissed challenges to the merger of adjoining villages and ward delimitation, upheld the government's authority to undertake delimitation and directed the government and State Election Commission to conduct local body elections within six weeks.

It also struck down the government's 34 per cent BC reservation order on the ground that the combined reservations exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling.

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