Local polls turn prestige battle for TDP, YSRCP

Vijayawada: Evenbefore the official notification for Andhra Pradesh local body elections is issued, the political battle has already intensified across the state, with both the ruling TDP-led NDA alliance and the opposition YSRCP treating the polls as a decisive political test ahead of 2029.

For Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the local body elections are not merely about panchayats and municipalities. The TDP leadership wants to replicate the momentum of the 2024 Assembly elections, where the NDA alliance crushed the YSRCP and reduced it to just 11 Assembly seats. A strong performance in the local polls would help Naidu reinforce the perception that the NDA remains politically unassailable in Andhra Pradesh and that the opposition has not recovered from its electoral collapse.

On the other side, YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is treating the local body elections as a political revival battle. Jagan believes strong results in the grassroots polls could help rebuild the perception that the YSRCP remains a serious challenger despite its crushing 2024 defeat.

The challenge before the YSRCP has become more complicated after the party lost control of several municipalities, municipal corporations, Zilla Parishads and Mandal Parishads following the 2024 elections, with many local body representatives shifting loyalty to the ruling TDP after the change in power.

Against this backdrop, the YSRCP leadership is reportedly preparing to use local body poll performance as the primary benchmark to assess Assembly constituency in-charges and future MLA aspirants. Party sources said Jagan intends to identify leaders capable of putting up an aggressive ‘do-or-die’ fight against the TDP well before the next Assembly elections.

In one of his strongest political warnings after the 2024 defeat, Jagan made it clear that unanimous elections would not be tolerated anywhere. “If unanimous elections happen anywhere, I will take it very seriously. I will treat it as the failure of the constituency in-charge,” he warned party leaders.

The YSRCP chief alleged that the ruling alliance could attempt “one-sided elections” through misuse of police and administrative machinery. He directed party leaders to field candidates in every locality and stand firmly behind cadre facing political pressure.

The TDP, however, dismissed Jagan’s allegations and countered that the YSRCP itself had institutionalised coercive politics during its tenure. Minister Nara Lokesh said the previous regime was reduced from 151 seats to 11 precisely because of such “anarchy politics.”

From the Mahanadu platform, Chandrababu instructed TDP leaders to treat every election as a prestige battle and warned leaders against complacency, arrogance and “part-time politics.” He made it clear that victory alone would determine political relevance within the party.

With both Chandrababu and Jagan personally monitoring preparations, the upcoming local body elections are now shaping into the first major direct political confrontation after the 2024 Assembly verdict - one that could redefine the political trajectory of both parties before 2029.