Workers of the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress Party clashed in Pulivendula on Sunday (November 1, 2026) as Andhra Pradesh voted to elect 100 urban local bodies. Stones were thrown in several wards of the town, which is the political base of YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, before police restored order, The Hindu reports.
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha said polling had been largely peaceful across the rest of the State. By 1 p.m., 37.13% of the electorate had voted, up from 22.08% at 11 a.m., according to the State Election Commission. Roughly 35.97 lakh of the 96.89 lakh eligible voters had cast ballots by that point.
Voting began at 7 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. Counting is set for November 3.
Why it matters
The election covers 13 municipal corporations and 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats, and it is the first large urban test of strength since the TDP-led NDA government took office. Pulivendula carries extra weight because it is the constituency Mr. Reddy represents as MLA and the seat his family has long dominated.
The vote also follows an unusual delay. The polls were originally scheduled for October 28 but were postponed on the Supreme Court's directions after complaints that candidates had been blocked from filing nominations. The court's involvement has kept scrutiny on the election machinery, and the SEC has installed about 13,500 CCTV cameras at polling stations in line with those directions.
Smaller towns outpace the cities
Turnout figures released through the day showed voters in smaller urban bodies casting ballots at a faster rate than those in the big corporations. Visakhapatnam, the largest corporation in the State, recorded the lowest figure at 27.55%. Among the corporations, Machilipatnam led at 47.85%, while Vijayawada stood at 36.40% and Guntur at 30.94%.
Kanigiri in Markapuram district posted the highest turnout at 63.36%, although only two of its wards are voting. Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, where all 32 wards are in play, followed at 61.86%, and Nagari at 60.81%. Pulivendula, where the morning confrontation took place, had reached 51.51%.
In Kadapa district, turnout across urban bodies was 25.46% by 11 a.m., above the State average at that hour. Jammalamudugu was at 60.92% and Pulivendula at 35.17% at that stage, while Kadapa city, the district's only corporation, was at 18.54%.
Eight municipalities and nagar panchayats are not voting at all: Allagadda, Dachepalli, Darsi, Gurajala, Kamalapuram, Piduguralla, Proddatur and Rayachoti. Their chairpersons and ward members were elected unopposed.
Mr. Punetha and Secretary A. Mallikarjuna monitored polling across the State through webcasting. In Nellore, Collector and District Election Officer Himanshu Shukla rode a motorcycle to inspect stations, including one at DSR High School in Moolapeta. In Ongole, a 70-year-old voter, Pasupuleti Narasimha Rao, collapsed while arriving at the Ramanagar Municipal School polling station and was taken to hospital.
Reddy alleges uneven playing field
Mr. Reddy, speaking to reporters in Pulivendula, accused the State Election Commission of failing to provide a level playing field and of favouring the ruling NDA government. He said the commission should guarantee every candidate a fair chance from nominations through to counting, adding that only then could the exercise be called an election.
He alleged that journalists had been beaten and their cameras destroyed in Pulivendula, and that polling agents had been refused entry to stations. He urged the Centre to intervene despite the TDP being its ally, warning that democracy would not prevail if a partner in the national alliance were allowed to act this way while the central government looked on.
The former Chief Minister arrived in the town by helicopter on Sunday, a trip described as an emergency landing; he had reportedly been granted permission to come on Saturday, but the district administration, occupied with the polls, had said it would struggle to provide security. The Hindu reports that he took out a roadshow while voting was under way, which TDP workers objected to. The TDP has accused him of breaching the Model Code of Conduct. The YSRCP said he had come to vote and that people walked alongside him in support.
Separately, Shaik Dastagiri, who turned approver in the Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy murder case, confronted Mr. Reddy's convoy on a busy road and shouted at him during a brief encounter, causing tension. Mr. Dastagiri is known for his feud with the Y.S. family.
Minister Nara Lokesh said in a post on X that the YSRCP appeared to have arrived well prepared in Kadapa while the rest of the State voted peacefully. He said election authorities would handle criminal elements and urged voters to turn out in large numbers.
In Visakhapatnam, supporters of YSRCP mayoral candidate Varudu Kalyani argued with TDP workers in Ward 29 of the East Assembly constituency as she returned from casting her vote. Police intervened quickly and asked both groups to disperse.
What to watch: polling closes at 5 p.m. and the final turnout figure will indicate how far the afternoon session narrowed the gap between the towns and the cities, before counting on November 3.
