VIJAYAWADA: A total of 25,809 nominations were filed for Andhra Pradesh's urban local body elections by October 18, the State Election Commission said. The Opposition YSR Congress Party moved the Supreme Court the next day, alleging that violence stopped its candidates from filing papers.
The figures cover the 2nd Ordinary Elections to Urban Local Bodies-2026. Candidates filed 24,451 nominations for ward member posts and 1,358 for mayoral and chairperson posts during the three-day window from October 16 to 18, according to the Commission's abstract.
Filing rose sharply over the three days. Ward nominations moved from 641 on the first day to 7,528 on the second and 16,282 on the final day.
The elections cover 3,942 wards across municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats. The 3,020 wards in municipal corporations drew 320 mayoral nominations and 8,198 ward nominations.
In the corporations, the YSRCP led the mayoral filings with 48 nominations, followed by the Telugu Desam Party with 46. The TDP led the ward filings with 2,956 nominations, followed by the YSRCP with 2,295.
Independents filed 112 mayoral nominations in the corporations, and other parties filed 45. The 922 wards in municipalities and nagar panchayats logged 1,038 chairperson nominations and 16,253 ward nominations, of which the YSRCP accounted for 319 chairperson and 5,880 ward filings.
The YSRCP filed its petition in the Supreme Court on Monday through general secretary Lella Appi Reddy. It sought police protection for its candidates, an extension of the nomination window, and additional centres so that papers could be filed safely, the party said.
The party also sought a stay on declaring candidates elected unopposed in the affected wards. Its petition challenged an October 18 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court that refused to extend the nomination deadline by a day.
The YSRCP alleged that its candidates were attacked or prevented from reaching nomination centres in Punganur, Rayachoti, Kadapa and Tirupati. It said nomination papers were snatched and torn in Kadapa, and that nine candidates were stopped from entering returning officers' offices in Tirupati.
The party alleged an attack on the convoy of its MP P V Midhun Reddy. YSRCP leader S V Satish Kumar Reddy told reporters in Amaravati that TDP members tore papers during scrutiny and that elections in Mydukur municipality were postponed after papers were destroyed.
The State Election Commission announced the local body poll schedule on October 14, bringing the Model Code of Conduct into force. Thirteen municipal corporations and 87 municipalities are due to vote on October 28, with the process set to be completed by December 2.