As expected, the ruling YSR Congress party has captured the Kuppam municipality in Chittoor district, defeating the Telugu Desam Party with a huge majority.
Out of 25 wards in Kuppam municipality, 24 wards went to polls on Monday and of them, the YSRC captured 18 wards, while the remaining six went to the TDP.
It was a unanimous election in another one ward that went to YSRC. So, in all, the YSRC won 19 wards in the municipality.
It was a proverbial last nail in the coffin of the TDP in Kuppam assembly constituency represented by its president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The party has already lost 90 per cent of the gram panchayats, mandal parishad and zilla parishad seats.
Now with the loss even in the municipality, the defeat of the TDP has become total and it is a big loss of face for Naidu, who is now staring at a defeat in the next assembly elections in Kuppam.
Though the YSRC won the seat because of the natural advantage it has for being the ruling party, it is no excuse for Naidu.
The TDP has, in fact, admitted the defeat well in advance by alleging that the YSRC indulged in largescale rigging and impersonation in the Kuppam municipal elections.
Kuppam has been Naidu’s bastion since 1989, when Naidu won the assembly seat for the first time. Though Naidu won the Kuppam assembly seat in 2019 assembly polls, his party has been losing all the local body elections in his constituency since then.
It would be difficult for Naidu to bounce back in the next elections, as the YSRC has established a base in Kuppam at all levels – from gram panchayat to the municipality level.
Now, it is going to be a threat for his very political survival in the next assembly elections scheduled in 2024.
