Alliance parties eye Vizag Mayor post

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam is considered as one of the prestigious corporations in Andhra Pradesh for political parties.

However, as the corporation is under the reins of the YSRCP, the alliance parties is pulling all stops to take it under its control.

In the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) elections, the YSRCP won 59 seats, TDP 29, Jana Sena Party 3, while the CPI, CPM and BJP won a ward each. Meanwhile, independent corporators bagged four seats. Post the elections, the independent corporators extended their support to the then ruling YSRCP.

Having a huge majority in the council, the YSRCP won standing committee elections three consecutive times unanimously.

However, the scenario changed in GVMC when the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP alliance came to power in the state in the 2024 general elections.

After the formation of the NDA government, the corporators from the YSRCP and independents joined the alliance one after another.

In the past one year, about 20 corporators from the YSRCP have joined the TDP and Jana Sena. Two TDP corporators, who extended support to the YSRCP earlier, rejoined the TDP.

At present, the strength of NDA alliance in the council has increased to 53 and the YSRCP’s numbers reduced to 38. Following which, alliance candidates won the standing committee elections held last July.

After this, the coalition leaders began exercise of weakening the YSRCP’s hold in the council.

According to the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Act, it is not possible to change the Mayor before the completion of four years.

In the meantime, the tenure of the GVMC Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari came to a close on March 18. Keeping the present situation in view, the alliance corporators readied a draft with signatures of MLAs, MPs and MLCs as ex-officio members along with alliance corporators to issue a notice to the district collector for the Mayoral post.

Meanwhile, a group of corporators led by GVMC TDP floor leader Peela Srinivasa Rao went to Amaravati to meet Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to bring the issue to the CM’s notice. For long, Srinivasa Rao was considered for the Mayor post and there are clear indications that he would be the next Mayor.

If Chief Minister and Deputy CM give their assent, corporator of alliance parties will intensify their efforts to replace the YSRCP mayor.