TDP’s Munikrishna wins Tirupati deputy mayor post amid YSRC allegations of intimidation and political clashes
Tirupati: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) corporator R.C. Munikrishna, with the backing of Jana Sena members and other corporators who quit YSRC, has been elected the deputy mayor of the Tirupati Municipal Corporation.
The deputy mayoral election, which had earlier been scheduled on Monday, got put off to Tuesday, as only 22 corporators had been present when the minimum number of corporators required under the quorum for the election is 25.
On Tuesday, amid tight security, 47 members arrived for the deputy mayoral election. City mayor Dr. R. Sireesha, who remains with the YSRC, led her party corporators’ contingent to the voting venue.
In the polling that followed, Munikrishna secured 26 votes, while YSR Congress party candidate Bhaskar Reddy received support from only 21 members.
Mayor Sireesha alleged that Tirupati MLA Arani Srinivasulu and his followers had intimidated YSRC corporators and even abducted and threatened some of them to vote for the TDP candidate or face the consequences.
Tirupati city police made fool-proof arrangements and the election, held under the supervision of election officer and joint collector Subham Bansal, passed off peacefully.
The election of deputy mayor had been necessitated as the previous incumbent Bhumana Abhinay Reddy had quit and contested as MLA in the 2024 general elections on the YSRC ticket but lost.
Senior YSRC leader and former TTD trust board chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy accused the ruling NDA alliance of foul play. "This victory is through deceit,” he stated, accusing ruling TD and Jana Sena parties of misusing state power to intimidate and influence YSRC corporators.
Countering these charges, Tirupati MLA Srinivas alleged that in fact YSRC tried to abduct four NDA-affiliated corporators but failed. “We won fairly," he declared.
Tension escalated in the temple city on Sunday night with reports of YSRC leaders attempting to breach the TD camp, while several YSRC corporators had allegedly been confined to hotels by supporters of the Jana Sena MLA.
Situation worsened on Monday night following postponement of the deputy mayoral election, as clashes erupted near the residence of YSRC leader Abhinay Reddy’s driver, his relative Kaushik, and Town Bank vice chairman Vasudev Yadav. Two vehicles got vandalised and Dr. Mamatha, wife of the 45th division corporator Aneesh, alleged that an attempt had been made to kidnap her husband.
Tirupati MP M. Gurumurthy and Abhinay Reddy intervened. But before the situation could worsen, police used lathi charge to disperse the crowds.
On Tuesday, section 144 and the 30 Act had been imposed around the election venue. Tirupati district SP Harshavardhan Raju oversaw security arrangements and later addressed the media, dismissing reports of MLC C. Subramanyam’s kidnapping as baseless.
"MLC Subramanyam had left the city due to health reasons. He has confirmed the same in a video statement," the SP maintained.
