TDP Sweeps Kuppam Urban Local Body Elections, Regains Control

TIRUPATI: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has registered a landslide victory in the Kuppam Urban Local Body elections, sweeping all 32 wards with a 100 per cent strike rate in the home constituency of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The resounding victory marks a dramatic political comeback for the TDP in its traditional stronghold, where it suffered a major setback in the 2021 municipal elections. In a historic reversal, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which was then in power, had won 19 of the 25 wards, restricting the TDP to just six seats and ending its control over the Kuppam civic body for the first time in nearly three-and-a-half decades. Five years later, the TDP has regained complete control of the municipality, winning every ward and leaving the opposition YSRCP without a single seat. The outcome is being viewed as a significant political backing of Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership in his home constituency. The TDP’s chairperson candidate, Raj Kumar, also registered a resounding victory, polling 22,622 votes against 7,086 votes secured by his nearest YSRCP rival. He won with a massive majority of 15,536 votes.