Jana Sena Achieves 100% Strike Rate in Municipal Polls in AP

The Jana Sena Party, led by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, was once again successful in achieving a 100 per cent strike rate in the municipal polls.

In 2024, the Jana Sena Party also won all the seats allotted to it under a seat-sharing agreement with TDP. This time, the Jana Sena won all the mayoral and municipal chairperson posts it contested to set a new record in municipal polls, including Eluru and Vijayawada corporations. It also won the posts of chairpersons of all 14 municipalities and three Nagar panchayats it contested. It has successfully expanded its base to other towns.

It succeeded in building the leadership by fielding those who came into the party fold from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna, who joined Jana Sena only a few days before the elections, has been elected as mayor of Vijayawada. Radhakrishna defeated YSRCP candidate Rayana Bhagyalakshmi by 1,30,872 votes. Radhakrishna secured 2,65,888 votes, while Bhagyalakshmi polled 1,35,016 votes.

Radhakrishna is son of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga, a prominent leader who was killed by a rival faction in 1988 was elected to the Assembly in 2004 from Vijayawada East constituency on a Congress ticket. He unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Assembly elections as the candidate of Praja Rajyam Party, which was floated by Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother and popular actor Chiranjeevi.

Out of 100 ULBs for which elections were held, the coalition won 94 ULBs. Its candidates were elected as mayors in 11 out of 13 corporations. It was leading in Ongole, where the counting of votes was taken up on Wednesday.

The opposition YSR Congress Party could win only one corporation and three municipalities.

BJP won the posts of chairpersons of all four municipalities it contested.