19 candidates competed for the post of mayor of VMC

Independent candidate AB Venkateswara Rao gives a warm hug to Jana Sena candidate Vangaveeti Radha during a municipal election campaign at Machavaram in Vijayawada on Sunday. | Photo credit: GN RAO

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Sunday (October 25, 2026) released the final list of candidates in the fray for the posts of ward members and mayor. According to the list, 19 candidates are vying for the post of mayor, while 349 are vying for 86 councilor seats in the ongoing 2026 second regular municipal body elections.

While 24 candidates filed for mayor, duplicates were rejected, reducing the number to 19. None of the mayoral candidates withdrew their nomination.

The Jana Sena Party, YSRCP, Aam Aadmi Party, Indian Union Muslim League Party, Bharata Chaitanya Yuvajana Party, Navarang Congress Party, Reforms Party of India have one candidate each in the mayoral race. The remaining 10 are all independents.

A total of 970 nominations were submitted for choir members from October 16 to 18. Of these, 474 candidates withdrew their nomination and some others were rejected. Most withdrawals were seen from TDP candidates (180), followed by Jana Sena (121), YSRCP (97) and BJP (43).

Meanwhile, the city is campaigning at a brisk pace. While there is a close fight between NDA candidate Vangaveeti Radha Krishna and YSRCP candidate Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, the entry of former IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao as an independent candidate has offered a new alternative to voters.

On Sunday, as Mr. Venkateswara Rao campaigned near Machavaram and criticized both the YSRCP and the TDP for corruption, his political animosity gave way to a brief episode of affection when he met NDA candidate Mr. Vangaveeti Radha Krishna, who was also campaigning in the opposite direction. The two candidates exchanged a warm hug as onlookers stood by and clicked their pictures.

Published – 25 Oct 2026 23:32 IST