YS Jagan Claims YSRCP Vote Share Improved Despite Poll Irregularities

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has alleged widespread irregularities in the recent local body elections, claiming that his party's vote share increased compared with the 2024 Assembly elections despite alleged intimidation, manipulation and electoral malpractice. He asserted that YSRCP would have secured a significantly higher share of votes had the elections been conducted in a free and fair manner.

Addressing party leaders from several districts at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Jagan accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of manipulating the electoral process and altering results even where YSRCP candidates had won. He also criticised the State Election Commission, alleging that it failed to ensure impartial elections. Party leaders claimed that candidates' relatives were pressured to withdraw nominations, YSRCP votes were rejected as invalid and repeated recounting was used to influence results.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu described the results as a strong endorsement of the NDA government, claiming that the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance secured 58.90 per cent of the votes against YSRCP's 33.56 per cent, establishing a lead of 25.34 percentage points. He said the alliance's share increased from 55.30 per cent in the 2024 Assembly elections. The alliance reportedly secured 94 of 100 Mayor and Chairperson positions, including 70 for TDP, 20 for Jana Sena and four for BJP.

The State Election Commission's ward-wise declaration recorded 2,535 wards for TDP, 539 for YSRCP, 476 for Jana Sena and 152 for BJP. Independents secured 121 wards, while other parties accounted for 119.

A comparison with previous urban elections indicates a significant change in the parties' electoral fortunes. In 2021, YSRCP secured 52.63 per cent of the votes against TDP's 30.73 per cent. An aggregation of available 2026 ward-level candidate results puts TDP at approximately 44.10 per cent and YSRCP at 34.25 per cent. This represents a 13.37 percentage-point increase for TDP and an 18.38-point decline for YSRCP compared with 2021.

YSRCP had risen from approximately 44.60 per cent in the 2014 Assembly elections to 49.95 per cent in 2019, an increase of 5.35 percentage points, winning 151 of 175 seats. In 2024, its vote share declined to 39.37 per cent, while TDP secured 45.60 per cent and won 135 seats.

Another significant feature was the election of 755 wards unanimously, with one additional ward uncontested, out of 3,942 wards. Elections were held in the remaining 3,186 wards. The unanimous wards represented approximately 19.15 per cent of the total.

Separately, Jagan described the government's proposal to hand over government medical colleges to private institutions under the PPP model as a major scam. He said his government had initiated 17 medical colleges, of which five were inaugurated and three made ready for academic activities. He questioned the proposed Rs 1,630 crore viability gap funding, the leasing of government land at Rs 100 per acre and the allocation of more than half the medical seats to private institutions.

He argued that the remaining nine colleges could be completed with an annual expenditure of Rs 1,000 crore. He also alleged that the government was weakening Aarogyasri, neglecting government hospitals and failing to maintain village clinics and emergency services. Jagan said his party had collected one crore signatures opposing privatisation and promised legal action against those responsible for irregularities if YSRCP returned to power.

On the occasion of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's birth anniversary, Jagan paid floral tributes at the party office, recalling the contributions of India's first Education Minister to higher education, secularism and national integration. He described Azad's vision of accessible, quality education as an enduring inspiration. MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy and minority community leaders participated in the programme.