As GVMC Polls Nearing, TD Asks Rebels To Back Alliance Nominees

VISAKHAPATNAM: With campaigning for the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) elections drawing to a close, ruling Telugu Desam Party is stepping up efforts to contain internal dissent. It has asked rebel candidates to withdraw from the contest immediately and publicly announce their support to the official alliance nominees.

Ruling TD has warned that failure to comply with the directive will invite disciplinary action, including their suspension from the party.

The stern warning reflects the growing concern within the ruling NDA alliance over rebel candidates contesting from several wards. Party leaders fear that their presence could split the anti-YSRCP vote and undermine the prospects of official alliance candidates in closely contested divisions.

According to a list released by the TD, rebel candidates are in the fray across key constituencies, including Pendurthi, Visakha North, Visakha South, Visakha West, Bheemili, and Gajuwaka, which has the highest concentration of rebels who have entered the race after being denied the official tickets.

The development comes amid an intensely fought civic election. A total of 573 candidates are contesting for corporator posts across 120 wards, while 15 candidates remain in the race for the mayor’s post after six aspirants have withdrawn their nominations.

The mayoral contest is being widely viewed as a direct battle between TD candidate Mukka Sravani and YSRC nominee Varudu Kalyani. Adding a separate dimension to the contest, former Jana Sena leader and environmental activist Bolisetti Satyanarayana has requested voters to support Varudu Kalyani in order to “save Visakhapatnam.”

Election statistics reveal the contest's scale and intensity. Gajuwaka zone leads with 139 candidates, followed by Vizag North with 86 contestants, South with 77, West with 72, and East with 70 persons in fray. Other key zones are Pendurthi with 35 candidates, Aganampudi with 28, Madhurawada with 27, Anakapalli with 20, and Bheemunipatnam with 19.

Political observers point to another emerging trend after sidelining of several corporators who played crucial roles during last year’s no-confidence motion against then mayor Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari. Several YSRC corporators had backed the NDA moves to dislodge her. After Venkata Kumari’s defeat, they shifted their loyalties to the TD or Jana Sena, hoping to be re-nominated. But this has not happened.

Names being frequently mentioned in this regard include Konathala Sudha, Rajana Rama Rao, Tippala Vamsi Reddy, Battu Suryakumari, Konathala Neelima, Peela Lakshmi Sowjanya, Allapu Varalakshmi, and Kunche Jyotsna. All of them have failed to secure nominations after changing their political loyalties. Only a handful of defectors have been accommodated. Jana Sena allotted tickets to Masipogu Mary Jones and Sarala Devi, while the TD has provided nominations to Urukuti Narayana and Boddu Narasimha Patrudu.

The corporators, several of them influential, overlooked by the ruling alliance could swing the scales where victory margins are expected to be narrow.

With polling scheduled for November 1 and counting on November 3, the twin challenges of managing rebel candidates and retaining grassroots support are likely to be a crucial test for the alliance’s electoral machinery.