Ward-by-ward allocation of seats has proven harder to resolve than the question of mayoral and municipal chairperson posts, with TDP and JSP leaders yet to bridge overlapping claims that have stirred unease among party workers in Krishna and NTR districts, even after extended talks between the two sides. Candidates who have spent years cultivating grassroots support within their party and angling for a place on the local ballot have tended to hold their ground rather than yield a spot to an alliance partner.
Candidate nominations were already being filed when questions over how wards would ultimately be allocated began pushing both parties toward a faster resolution of their standoff. In Vijayawada and Machilipatnam, ward counts within each municipal corporation run high enough that candidates are finding themselves in a crowded and contested field.
Spanning 86 wards in total, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has designated the mayoral position for the Jana Sena Party. Talks are understood to be hovering around the 20-seat mark — a figure that falls short of the 30-plus wards the party had sought, according to people familiar with the discussions who were not authorised to speak on the record. Under the draft plan, Vijayawada East and Central would each receive seven wards, while the western division is allocated six.
Unease has taken hold among portions of the TDP cadre — a grouping that holds notable influence throughout the corporation — over the arrangement being put forward. Roughly ten politicians were understood to be vying for the mayoral position, with various ward-level contenders having spent time building local backing ahead of the vote. Giving that role to JSP has left a number of people feeling let down.
A number of TDP hopefuls are understood to have told party officials they will accept whatever decision the leadership reaches, while also voicing belief that the alliance is on course to capture the Vijayawada Mayor position. For those involved, the pressing focus falls on how ward tickets will be allocated and what chances await the candidates preparing to run.
The TDP has been assigned the Mayor's seat within Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation, a body that spans 60 wards across the town. Talks between the two parties over how wards will be allocated are ongoing, with JSP understood to have put forward a figure of around 20 as its share. Unverified reports put JSP's share of the contested seats at 15, with BJP receiving two.
Three municipal bodies falling under NTR district — Nandigama with 32 wards, Jaggayyapeta with 36, and Kondapalli with 40 — have had their chairperson posts handed to the TDP as part of the local-body seat-sharing arrangement. Tiruvuru, a constituency carrying 28 wards, has been placed under JSP's allocation.
Under the seat-sharing arrangement, Vuyyuru — a municipality spanning 32 wards — went to the TDP, while the JSP took charge of Pedana, which covers 28 wards. Voting in Gudivada and Tadigadapa has not been scheduled for the current round.
Party workers affiliated with TDP have voiced confidence that their network on the ground will deliver more than four out of every five local council seats across these areas. Coordination panels set up jointly by the TDP and JSP are managing seat-distribution negotiations, though disputes over ward-level allocations persist, and a portion of aspiring candidates have indicated they may withdraw from the process if their bids go unacknowledged.
Work on locking in a final list of candidates is now under way within the YSRCP. Candidate nominations are to be lodged by 3 pm on Sunday, with scrutiny of those nominations set for October 19; any candidate wishing to withdraw has until October 21 to do so, and voting day falls on October 28.
As the window for submitting nominations draws to a close, both parties are under pressure to settle constituency-level seat distributions before unresolved grievances among hopefuls begin to disrupt the groundwork being laid for the vote.
