CPI(M) wins Munchingiputtu ZPTC as YSRCP holds ground in Alluri district

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has won the Munchingiputtu Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, defeating a former chairperson of the Zilla Parishad, in one of the few upsets of the local body elections counted on Saturday, 7 November.

The tribal district bucked the statewide trend. While the TDP-led alliance swept most of Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) was leading in five ZPTC segments here, Pedabayalu, Paderu, Ananthagiri, Chintapalli and Dumbriguda, according to The Hindu. The TDP was ahead in Koyyuru and Araku Valley. In the Munchingiputtu mandal itself, the YSRCP won eight of the 14 MPTC seats, the alliance three, and the CPI(M) and independents the rest, the Telugu daily Sakshi reported.

The district has 11 ZPTC and 172 MPTC seats. Turnout there was 62%, below the State average of about 71%.

The background

Alluri Sitharama Raju district, carved out of the old Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts in 2022, covers the hilly Agency area along the Odisha border, home mostly to Adivasi communities. The CPI(M) has a long-standing presence there through its work on tribal land rights and its opposition to bauxite mining in the hills. The area was also one of the few that stayed with the YSRCP in the 2024 Assembly election, when the party held Paderu and Araku Valley even as the NDA swept the rest of the State.