Andhra Pradesh Municipal Elections 2026: Why Are 99 Lakh Voters Voting Today, and When Will Results Be Declared?
Key Takeaways
- Polling is under way on 1 November 2026, 7 am to 5 pm, across 92 urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh — 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and nagar panchayats.
- Nearly 99.35 lakh voters are deciding the fate of 10,262 candidates at 11,378 polling centres, including 153 mayoral candidates in the 13 corporations.
- The polls were postponed from 28 October after Supreme Court directions, following violence that prevented several candidates from filing nominations.
- The main contest is between the ruling NDA (TDP, Jana Sena, BJP) and the opposition YSRCP led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
- Counting of votes is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at 138 counting centres; repolling, if needed anywhere, is set for 2 November.
Polling is under way across Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, 1 November 2026, for the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections 2026, with nearly 99.35 lakh voters deciding the fate of 10,262 candidates in 92 urban local bodies. Voting began at 7 am at 11,378 polling centres and is scheduled to continue until 5 pm, under tight security and close monitoring by the State Election Commission (SEC). The results will be counted on Tuesday, 3 November 2026 — which is why the question most voters are asking today is not just who is contesting, but when the Andhra Pradesh municipal election results will be declared and what these local polls will decide for their towns and cities.
The elections cover 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Elections were notified for 100 urban local bodies in all, but polling is being held in 92 of them because, in eight municipalities and nagar panchayats — Piduguralla, Gurazala, Dachepalli, Darsi, Allagadda, Proddatur, Rayachoti and Kamalapuram — both the chairpersons and the ward members were elected unanimously. In the municipal corporations, voters are choosing mayors and corporators; in the municipalities and nagar panchayats, they are choosing chairpersons and ward members. These are the bodies that run everyday urban life: water supply, sanitation, roads, street lighting, town planning and local taxes.
What is being voted on today?
The scale of the exercise is large. According to the State Election Commission, about 99.35 lakh voters are eligible to vote — 59,97,918 in the municipal corporations and 39,38,096 in the municipalities and nagar panchayats. The Deccan Chronicle's breakdown puts the electorate at 48,29,226 men, 51,05,345 women and 1,443 others, for a total of 99,36,014 voters.
A total of 10,262 candidates are in the fray for mayoral, chairperson and ward-level posts. In the 13 municipal corporations, 153 candidates are contesting the mayor posts. Of the 922 corporator wards in these corporations, polling is being held in 804, while 118 corporators have already been elected unanimously. In the municipalities and nagar panchayats, 6,669 candidates are contesting 2,382 wards, and 367 candidates are in the race for 70 chairperson posts, after 17 chairpersons were elected unanimously. The 13 corporations going to the polls are Vizianagaram, GVMC (Visakhapatnam), Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Anantapur, Kurnool, Kadapa, Chittoor, Vijayawada, Eluru, Machilipatnam and Tirupati.
The contest is, in the main, a direct fight between the ruling National Democratic Alliance — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — and the opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), led by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. For the ruling alliance, which won the 2024 Assembly elections, the civic polls are a test of whether its support holds in the towns and cities; for the YSRCP, they are a chance to show that it remains competitive at the grassroots after losing power.
Why were these elections postponed from 28 October?
The Andhra Pradesh municipal elections 2026 were originally scheduled for 28 October, but were deferred following directions from the Supreme Court after violent incidents prevented several candidates from filing their nominations. The YSRCP had approached the apex court over the nomination stage of the polls, and the State Election Commission then revised the schedule.
As part of the revised timetable, fresh nominations were accepted for 48 hours in four civic bodies where complaints of violence and disruption had come up during filing: Kadapa Municipal Corporation, Rajampet Municipality, Mydukur Municipality and Tirupati Municipal Corporation. In the remaining civic bodies, nominations were not reopened, but polling for all 100 bodies was moved to the same day, 1 November, with counting set for 3 November. The postponement is the backstory to today's heavy security: the Commission has said its primary objective is to ensure that every voter can exercise their franchise freely, without fear, pressure or intimidation.
How is polling being conducted, and what has been reported so far?
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha and his team are personally monitoring the conduct of the elections, with elaborate arrangements including CCTV cameras and drones at places where clashes are anticipated. The Hindu reported that the Commissioner inspected the polling process in Vijayawada on Sunday, visiting a polling station in the VTPS Colony area of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation limits and asking officials about votes cast and turnout. More than 36,000 police personnel have been deployed across 4,372 polling locations, and 1,233 polling stations have been identified as sensitive for additional security measures, according to reports.
Early turnout figures varied widely by area. NDTV reported brisk participation overall, with around 20 per cent polling in the first two hours. In Tirupati district, the State Election Commission's early figures showed 11.7 per cent polling in Tirupati Municipal Corporation till 9 am, an average of 11.06 per cent across five local bodies in the district in the first two hours, with Puttur recording 16.21 per cent and Naidupeta only 4.15 per cent. These are early, partial figures, and the final turnout will only be known after polling closes at 5 pm.
Allegations have also surfaced during the day, and they should be read as claims by political parties, not findings by the Election Commission. YSRCP Kadapa MP Y S Avinash Reddy alleged violence and polling irregularities at several booths, accusing TDP agents of casting votes on behalf of ordinary voters. YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged electoral intimidation and booth rigging in Pulivendula and demanded re-polling there. The Commission has not, in the reports available so far, announced a decision on those demands; if repolling is needed anywhere, it is scheduled for 2 November.
When will the Andhra Pradesh municipal election results be declared?
Counting of votes will be taken up on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at 138 counting centres across the state, according to the State Election Commission. Results for the mayoral, chairperson, corporator and ward-member posts will therefore be known on that day, barring any repolling or counting-day development that changes the schedule for a particular body. Readers should be cautious about any "result" circulating before counting begins: with polling still under way, no official result exists yet, and early claims on social media are not a substitute for the Commission's counting.
For context on how election-integrity disputes are playing out nationally at the same time, see our explainer on [the INDIA bloc's 'public impeachment' of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar](https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=india-bloc-public-impeachment-cec-gyanesh-kumar-explained), and on [the Supreme Court's handling of Form 7 complaints in Uttar Pradesh's voter-roll revision](https://indiaask.tech/question.php?slug=supreme-court-form7-up-sir-compliance-report-explained). Those are separate disputes in separate states, but they explain why questions about voter lists and the fairness of polling carry so much weight in this election season.
Why do these local elections matter?
Municipal elections rarely get the attention of Assembly or Lok Sabha polls, but their results shape daily life more directly than most state-level decisions. Corporators and ward members decide how municipal budgets are spent in their wards; mayors and chairpersons lead the councils that approve civic works and oversee municipal staff. A sweep by the ruling alliance would strengthen its grip on urban governance across Andhra Pradesh, while strong YSRCP gains in major corporations such as Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Tirupati would give the opposition a visible base from which to rebuild ahead of the next Assembly election.
The results will also be read as a verdict on local issues — drinking water, roads, drainage, property tax and urban services — rather than only on state or national politics. That is the nature of civic polls: voters judge the corporator who fixed their street as much as the party that leads the state government. Reports of today's polling, including [The Hindu's account of the elections beginning under tight security](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/andhra-pradesh-urban-local-body-elections/article71651976.ece) and [The Hindu BusinessLine's report on polling beginning amid tight security](https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/ap-municipal-elections-polling-begins-amid-tight-security/article71652017.ece), underline how much of the day's story is about the conduct of polling itself — security, turnout and the Commission's monitoring — rather than the outcome, which is still two days away.
Conclusion
The Andhra Pradesh municipal elections 2026 are, at their core, a test of local democracy under difficult circumstances: postponed once after nomination-stage violence, held under heavy security, and watched closely by both the ruling alliance and the opposition. Nearly 99.35 lakh voters across 92 urban local bodies are choosing the mayors, chairpersons, corporators and ward members who will run their towns and cities. Polling closes at 5 pm today, repolling — if needed anywhere — is set for 2 November, and counting is scheduled for 3 November. Until then, the honest position is that the contest is under way, the early turnout picture is mixed, and the results are yet to be decided — by the voters, not by claims made before the count.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When is voting taking place for the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections 2026, and when will results be declared?
Polling is being held on Sunday, 1 November 2026, from 7 am to 5 pm, across 92 urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh — 13 municipal corporations and 79 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Counting of votes is scheduled for 3 November 2026.
How many voters and candidates are there in the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections?
Nearly 99.35 lakh voters are eligible — 59,97,918 in the municipal corporations and 39,38,096 in the municipalities and nagar panchayats. A total of 10,262 candidates are contesting mayoral, chairperson and ward-level posts, including 153 candidates for mayor in the 13 corporations.
Why were the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections postponed from 28 October?
The elections were originally scheduled for 28 October 2026 but were deferred following directions from the Supreme Court after violent incidents prevented several candidates from filing nominations. Fresh nominations were accepted for 48 hours in four bodies — Kadapa, Rajampet, Mydukur and Tirupati — and polling for all bodies was moved to 1 November.
Which parties are contesting the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections, and why do they matter?
The main contest is between the ruling NDA alliance of the TDP, Jana Sena Party and BJP, and the opposition YSR Congress Party led by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The polls are a test of the ruling alliance's support in towns and cities after its 2024 Assembly election win, and of the YSRCP's grassroots strength after losing power.
Read Next on IndiaAsk
- For context on how election-integrity disputes are playing out nationally at the same time, see the INDIA bloc's symbolic public impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner. What Is the INDIA Bloc's 'Public Impeachment' of CEC Gyanesh Kumar? 31 October Programme, the Real Removal Process and What Happens Next Explained
- The Supreme Court's handling of Form 7 complaints in Uttar Pradesh's voter-roll revision is a separate dispute, but it explains why voter-list questions carry weight this election season. Form 7 Misuse in UP SIR: Supreme Court, EC Reply
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