Pulivendula — the hometown of Jagan Mohan Reddy and his late father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy — has been synonymous with the YSR family’s political dominance since the 1970s.
Published Aug 14, 2025 | 1:41 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 14, 2025 | 1:41 PM
TDP's M Latha Reddy secured a decisive win.
Synopsis: The TDP in Andhra Pradesh achieved victory in the Pulivendula Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency by-election. This marks the first significant electoral loss for the YSRCP in Pulivendula in nearly two decades and signals TDP’s growing influence in the Rayalaseema region.
In what seemed like a tectonic shift, the TDP in Andhra Pradesh achieved a historic victory in the Pulivendula Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) by-election, breaching the long-unassailable bastion of the YSRCP and its influential YSR family.
The result, announced on Thursday, 14 August, at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University Polytechnic College in Kadapa, marks the first significant electoral loss for the YSRCP in Pulivendula in nearly two decades, sending shockwaves through Andhra Pradesh’s political landscape.
The by-election, necessitated by the death of YSRCP leader T Maheshwar Reddy in February 2023, saw a fierce contest between M Latha Reddy of the TDP, wife of former MLC and Pulivendula in-charge Mareddy Ravindra Reddy (BTech Ravi), and T Hemanth Reddy of the YSRCP.
Latha Reddy secured a decisive win, defeating Hemanth Reddy by a margin exceeding 6,035 votes, ending the YSR family’s nearly 30-year dominance in the constituency. The YSRCP nominee lost the security deposit by securing only 683 votes in the by-election. There were 11 contestants in the fray.
After Latha Reddy was declared elected, BTech Ravi said, “In the past, there was no scope for anyone to vote without fear. In this by-election, the voters could exercise their right freely without any fear. In the past, voters were not even allowed to vote.”
“The by-election has proved that if elections are held in a democratic manner, the people would vote for the TDP,” Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy said.
BC Welfare Minister Sanjeevareddygari Savitha said that the TDP’s next target will be the Pulivendula Assembly seat itself. “We will win that seat also,” she said. Pulivendula is represented in the Assembly by former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Pulivendula — the hometown of Jagan Mohan Reddy and his late father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy — has been synonymous with the YSR family’s political dominance since the 1970s.
The YSRCP has historically swept elections here — panchayat to Assembly — with commanding margins, making the TDP’s victory a symbolic and strategic breakthrough.
The campaign was a high-stakes battle, with the YSRCP banking on emotional and dynastic appeals, while the TDP, backed by its NDA allies, mobilised ministers, MPs, and state leaders, focusing on alleged YSRCP misgovernance and promising development.
The YSRCP demanded the election’s cancellation, alleging misuse of police machinery by the TDP-led government. Despite these claims, the counting process went off smoothly, delivering a clear verdict in favour of the TDP.
For the TDP, which regained power in Andhra Pradesh in 2024 under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the Pulivendula win is a morale-booster. It also signals its growing influence in the Rayalaseema region.
Kadapa district, particularly Pulivendula, has long been a YSRCP citadel. The TDP had struggled to penetrate its voter base all these years, but in vain. This stunning victory provides Naidu with a powerful narrative: Even Jagan’s citadel has crumbled. TDP leaders celebrated the result as “breaking a myth,” with party workers across Kadapa erupting in jubilation.
The win is seen as a consolidation of anti-YSRCP sentiment, fueled by grassroots defections and targeted campaigning. The TDP emphasised unfulfilled YSRCP promises, rising unemployment, and economic challenges, contrasting these with the Naidu government’s infrastructure and welfare initiatives. The victory is expected to embolden the TDP to intensify its efforts in Rayalaseema in future elections.
For the YSRCP, the loss is a profound political setback. Pulivendula’s defeat raises questions about the party’s dominance in Kadapa and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s ability to retain his core constituency’s loyalty. Following the YSRCP’s poor performance in the 2024 Assembly elections, where it secured only three of ten seats in Kadapa district, this result deepens the party’s crisis.
Even as political observers caution against overstating the significance of a single ZPTC result, Pulivendula’s symbolic weight as the YSR family’s political heartland is undeniable. The outcome underscores the growing importance of local body elections as battlegrounds for future political contests in Andhra Pradesh.
For the TDP, the victory strengthens its narrative of the “winds of change” sweeping even the YSRCP’s strongest bastions. For the YSRCP, it serves as a stark reminder that its social base cannot be taken for granted.
As Andhra Pradesh’s political equations shift, the Pulivendula upset marks a pivotal moment. It proves that no stronghold is impregnable in the face of ever-changing voters’ predelictions.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
