Voters favor candidates over development in local polls in Vijayawada

People queue up outside Andhra Loyola College to cast their vote in the Vijayawada municipal elections on Sunday. | Photo credit: KVS Giri

Candidates and parties, not city development, emerged as the main deciding factor for voters in Vijayawada in the second regular elections to urban local bodies held on Sunday.

At the polling booths set up at Andhra Loyola College in the city on Sunday, several voters belonging to the economically weaker sections from Gunadala did not even know the names of the candidates who contested from their division. They said they only knew symbols. Although they mentioned problems with drainage in their surroundings, they do not expect the situation to improve after the elections.

A similar response came from voters in a polling station set up at the Montessori College of Physiotherapy.

In Ranigari Thota, which includes a large number of Yadavs and SCs, some residents had to move to the area due to the construction of the Pandit Nehru Bus Stand in the 1980s. This section swears by NDA mayoral candidate Vangaveeti Radha Krishna and claims that it was he who ensured that they received pattas (title deeds).

One of the recipients, Nagaraju, said it was their way of expressing gratitude to Lord Radha Krishna. Another woman said she wanted to vote for the candidate because she found him to be good-natured.

Only two or three people said they would vote for a candidate because they want to see development. One of them is Ravi Ramesh, founder of Amaravati Runners, who came to Andhra Loyola College to cast his vote. He expressed disappointment that political parties devote most of their efforts and attention to the survival of the party and little effort to solve problems.

“There are no children’s parks in the city. Basic amenities need to be improved but no one is talking about it,” he said, hoping the situation would improve with the new set of corporators.

Published – 01 Nov 2026 23:52 IST