YSRC Candidate C. Ramesh Wins As Anantapur Mayor By 5,981 Votes
BJP nominee Ajesh Babu and his counting agents walked out of the counting hall: Reports
ANANTAPUR: YSRC candidate Chittur Ramesh has won the Anantapur Municipal Corporation mayor election by a majority of 5,981 votes over his BJP rival K. Ajesh Babu after a tense counting process.
The BJP candidate and his agents boycotted the counting after the third round. They alleged that the returning officer and other officials at the counting centre are favouring the YSRC candidate.
Later, Ajesh Babu said initially, counting officials had arranged three tables for counting. He alleged that subsequently a fourth table had been added. The BJP candidate alleged that while counting agents had been allowed at the fourth table, no official agent had been present there during the three rounds counting.
In total, there had been seven rounds of counting, including postal ballots. YSRC nominee Ramesh secured 62,219 votes against 56,238 polled by Ajesh Babu of BJP. Congress candidate Shali Dada Gandhi finished third with 4,944 votes.
Independent candidate K.V. Venkata Prasad secured 1,639 votes, while another independent G. Rajendra Gowd polled 1,009 votes.
Following all the rounds of counting, YSRC candidate Ramesh had been declared elected at around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The total number of votes polled, including postal ballots, is 1,33,871. Of these, 1,28,831 had been found valid. 1,264 voters opted for NOTA (none of the above). Officials found 3,776 votes invalid.
The mayoral election result in Anantapur is significant owing to the dichotomy. The TD-led alliance has secured a majority in the corporation's 62 divisions by winning 37 seats. But the YSRC won the mayor's post while the opposition party won from only 21 seats.
Post the election, Ramesh said he would honour the commitments made to the people of Anantapur, including by completing the long-pending underground drainage system on time.