TDP picks Kovelamudi Ravindra for Guntur mayor, YSRCP enters race

By DASI PURNA KARTHIK

On 26 Apr 2025 17:29:50

TDP picks Kovelamudi Ravindra for Guntur mayor, YSRCP enters race

• Elections set for April 28 amid shifting loyalties

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has finalized the name of Kovelamudi Ravindra (Nani), the current Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) floor leader, as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the post of Guntur mayor. The mayor election, scheduled for April 28, is poised to be a gripping contest as the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has also decided to field a candidate.

The mayor election was necessitated following the resignation of Kavati Manohar, the former YSRCP mayor, on March 15. Initially silent, the YSRCP has now signaled its intent to contest the election, making the battle for Guntur Corporation’s leadership highly competitive.

Four years ago, the YSRCP swept the GMC elections, winning 46 of the 57 divisions, while TDP secured nine and Jana Sena Party two. However, political equations shifted drastically over time. Deputy Mayor Sajila and four other YSRCP corporators defected to the TDP ahead of last year's general elections. After the NDA assumed power in Andhra Pradesh, 11 more YSRCP corporators moved to the TDP and Jana Sena, boosting the alliance’s strength in the corporation.

The TDP-Jana Sena alliance recently dominated the corporation’s standing committee elections, winning all six seats despite "camp politics." With the resignation of Manohar and Deputy Mayor Sajila’s switch to the TDP, the alliance now appears poised to claim the mayor’s post as well.

Meanwhile, the YSRCP, under the leadership of district president Ambati Rambabu, has devised a strategic move. The party, still holding a numerical majority among corporators, is banking on its votes and the support of four MLCs—Appireddy Yesuratnam, Kalpalatha Reddy, Murugudu Hanumantha Rao, and MP Ayodhyarami Reddy.

However, the NDA is equally confident, bolstered by the votes of Guntur East, Guntur West, and Pratipadu MLAs, as well as Guntur MP Pemmasani Chandrasekhar and Guntur Krishna district MLC Alapati Rajendra Prasad.

Both sides currently count five additional votes each outside the corporators. The YSRCP is reportedly planning to issue a whip to its corporators to prevent cross-voting. Yet, the TDP is confident that more than the required majority will support its candidate despite the whip.

The YSRCP leaders said that even if the YSRCP loses the mayor election, it sees an opportunity to identify and expel covert supporters of the TDP from within its ranks, thereby strengthening its internal discipline ahead of future battles.