Clashes and Fires Mar Pulivendula Voting as Andhra Pradesh Civic Polls Cross 22 Percent Turnout

UPDATE - follow-up to Polling begins for 100 urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh | LIVE: Workers of the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress Party clashed in Pulivendula on Sunday during Andhra Pradesh's urban local body elections. Stones were thrown in wards 11 and 12, and workers pushed and jostled in several other wards before police brought the situation under control. Hours before polling began, around midnight, fourteen vehicles were set on fire near an orchard belonging to one Madhusudhan Reddy in Pulivendula, including three cars, ten motorcycles, and a tractor, with police stating the culprits remain unknown.

Turnout And Voting

Voting for 100 urban local bodies, 13 municipal corporations, and 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats began at 7 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m., with votes to be counted on November 3. The overall voter turnout reached 22.08% by 11 a.m., with about 21.40 lakh of the State's 96.89 lakh urban voters casting their ballots. Smaller towns are voting much faster than big cities. Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district leads the State at 60.92%, followed by Kuppam at 44.30% and Nagari at 40.46%, while Pulivendula recorded 35.17%. Meanwhile, the 13 municipal corporations are trailing, with Chittoor at 32.50%, Vijayawada at 18.07%, Guntur at 17.82%, and Visakhapatnam recording the lowest at 13.34%. State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha stated that polling elsewhere in the State has been largely peaceful.

Context

Local body elections in India often see intense political rivalry between dominant regional parties at the grassroots level, leading to localized clashes and high voter engagement in smaller towns compared to major urban centers. Eight municipalities and nagar panchayats are not voting at all because their leaders were elected unopposed after earlier polls were delayed on Supreme Court directions following nomination disputes.