Cross-Voting Upsets Alliance in Krishna District

Cross-voting played a significant role in the local body election results across several parts of the district. Anti-incumbency against certain leaders, lack of awareness about party symbols and the influence of local political figures are believed to have contributed to voters choosing different parties for MPTC and ZPTC seats. In some areas, voters supported one party’s MPTC candidates but voted for another party’s ZPTC candidate, changing the electoral outcome. The impact was particularly visible in Gannavaram, Movva and Unguturu mandals. In Gannavaram, alliance candidate Kumaraswamy lost the ZPTC election by just 63 votes, even though the alliance parties won 16 of the 26 MPTC seats, while YSRCP secured only seven. Significant cross-voting was reported in Purushottapatnam, Mustabada, Surampalli and Tempalli, where voters reportedly supported alliance candidates for MPTC seats but backed YSRCP for the ZPTC election.

In Unguturu, the alliance won the ZPTC seat but faced setbacks in the MPTC elections. Of the 16 MPTC seats, alliance candidates won eight, YSRCP secured seven and CPI(M) won one. The CPI(M) winner also extended support to YSRCP, making the contest for the MPP post closely watched, with a lottery likely to decide the outcome if the parties remain tied. Movva witnessed a major split in votes, with Jana Sena, YSRCP and TDP rebel candidate Nannapaneni Veerendra contesting the ZPTC seat. According to the report, YSRCP strategically supported Veerendra, as it had little chance of winning the seat in a three-cornered contest. He reportedly secured around 4,000 to 5,000 votes in YSRCP strongholds, including Bhatlapenumarru, Movva, Kajalamandipalem, Chinamuttavi and Vemulavada. Of the 6,668 votes received by Veerendra, a significant share is believed to have come from the YSRCP vote bank. Despite alliance candidates winning 13 of the 15 MPTC seats in Movva, the alliance’s ZPTC candidate suffered a substantial defeat.