Newly elected Vijayawada Mayor Vangaveeti Radhakrishna. (FIile image)

Vijayawada Mayor Vangaveeti Radhakrishna on Wednesday pledged to work with elected representatives of all parties to develop the city and take civic issues to the government for early resolution.

Speaking at a felicitation programme organised at the office of MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni), the mayor thanked deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan for giving him the opportunity to serve as mayor and Naidu for encouraging him. He also thanked voters for their support.

“This victory is not mine; it belongs to the people of Vijayawada,” he said, promising to meet their expectations. He said priorities would include infrastructure, sanitation, drinking water, roads and resolution of public grievances across the city, with government support.

Kesineni said the alliance had won 78 of the 86 divisions, exceeding its estimate of 76 and losing only eight divisions. He said the result reflected public confidence in the alliance and its welfare and development programmes. Despite the low turnout, he said a higher polling percentage could have pushed the margin beyond two lakh.

The MP said the victory had increased the alliance’s responsibility and that the Centre, state government and city administration would work in coordination under a “triple-engine” arrangement to accelerate development.

He said delays in seat-sharing had cost the alliance opportunities in three or four divisions, while praising leaders and workers for their collective effort.

Kesineni said the alliance was open to constructive suggestions, including those from AB Venkateswara Rao. He also claimed that voters had rejected what he described as false campaign claims by the YSRC and other parties.

Vijayawada East MLA Gadde Rammohan, NTR district parliamentary constituency in-charge Makkena Mallikarjuna Rao, senior TD leader Buddha Venkanna and Gadde Anuradha attended the programme.

Tags: