Visakhapatnam, 3 November (H.S.): Counting of votes for elections to 92 urban local bodies across Andhra Pradesh began on Tuesday, with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leading in eight wards of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in the initial trends. Early results were also declared in some municipalities, with TDP and Jana Sena candidates winning wards.

In Visakhapatnam, counting for the GVMC elections began at 8 am at Andhra University, where 113 counting halls and 1,507 tables have been arranged across the North and South campuses. Around 5,000 personnel have been deployed for the exercise, while three-tier police security has been put in place.

By 8.50 am, the TDP had received 53 votes in the mayoral contest, followed by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) with 29, Congress with two and other candidates with 31, according to the initial counting figures.

In the ward-wise trends, the TDP was leading in eight wards, the YSRCP in five, Jana Sena in two, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in one and an Independent candidate in one ward.

The strong rooms were opened at 6 am in the presence of candidates and election agents. Counting began with postal ballots, and the process had been completed in four wards - 23, 43, 56 and 89 - by 8.30 am. Officials have arranged eight counting blocks at the Andhra University North Campus and two at the South Campus, with the process expected to be completed in a maximum of two rounds.

District Collector and Election Officer M. Abhishikth Kishore, Commissioner of Police Shankhabrata Bagchi and GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg are monitoring the counting arrangements. Ward-wise results will be announced after counting for each ward is completed, while the mayoral result will be declared after the counting in all wards.

In early results from other municipalities, Jana Sena candidate Satyanarayana won Ward 5 of Peddapuram Municipality in Kakinada district by a margin of 650 votes. TDP candidate Tudimella Vijaya won Ward 39 in Badvel Municipality in Kadapa district by 372 votes, while party candidate Lalam Murali secured Ward 1 in Narsipatnam Municipality in Anakapalli district with a majority of 413 votes.

Across the state, counting covers 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and Nagar Panchayats. The elections were held on November 1, with polling conducted from 7 am to 5 pm. Repolling, wherever required, was conducted on November 2.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation mayoral contest is among the closely watched electoral battles. The candidates include NDA-backed Jana Sena nominee Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, YSRCP candidate and former mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, and Independent candidate A. B. Venkateswara Rao, a former Director General of Police.

The civic elections are being viewed as an important electoral test for the ruling National Democratic Alliance, led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and the opposition YSRCP in the state's urban centres.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar