Vishakhapatanam: Independents emerged as the third victorious category in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, leaving national and regional parties including the BJP, the Congress, the CPM, the CPI and the Jana Sena behind in the MPTC elections, the results of which were announced on Sunday.
TD won 279 seats while the YSRCP bagged 1,448 seats in the region.
The independents won a total of 49 MPTC seats including 28 seats in Visakhapatnam, 11 in Vizianagaram and 10 in Srikakulam. Visakhapatnam’s Paderu Agency division secured 23 highest independent seats in the region.
“The independents won more than the Jana Sena and the BJP combined in north Andhra. Pawan Kalyan’s party drew a blank in Vizianagaram district. The BJP got a single seat each in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts,” a political observer said.
A political analyst said out of the total 1,828 seats, Jana Sena was able to secure only three MPTC seats, while its alliance BJP bagged eight seats. Both failed to make a mark in the Visakhapatnam region, where the two parties pinned high hopes. "The alliance parties need to focus on the rural pockets of the region," he added.
National parties the Congress, the CPM and the CPI could not open their account in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. The Congress won only two seats in the region in Visakhapatnam. The Communist parties secured five seats in Visakhapatnam.
