In yet another shocker to YSRCP, four of its councillors defected to the TDP in the last minute to hand over a politically significant electoral victory to the ruling party in Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s home constituency, Kuppam.

The TDP won the post of Kuppam Municipal chairman in an election, quite unexpectedly, after the four YSRCP councillors jumped ship. The YSRCP called it a black day for democracy, alleging coercion and unethical tactics by the TDP that led to its defeat despite having numerical strength.

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Although the YSRCP had wrested Kuppam municipality from the TDP’s grasp in 2021, winning 19 out of 21 seats, political shifts began right after the Assembly elections. The chairman’s post fell vacant in November 2024 after the incumbent, Dr Sudheer Darbha, resigned and joined TDP. After the chairman’s resignation, five more YSRCP councillors had jumped ship to take the tally of TDP to 11, while YSRCP had 13 councillors. Two MLCs, one of each party, were also part of the electoral college. With the defection of the YSRCP councillors, the numbers in favour of the TDP candidate soared to 15. Only eight of the YSRCP councillors participated in the election. Selvaraj, a member of the Vanniyakula Kshatriya community, was finally elected as the municipal chairman of Kuppam.

After his party’s defeat, YSRCP MLC KRJ Bharat alleged that despite being outnumbered in the council, TDP resorted to intimidation, threats and even financial incentives to lure away the YSRCP councillors. He said this reflected how TDP operates in the chief minister’s constituency. “We will approach the High Court and ensure that those who violated the party whip face consequences,” he said. After the dramatic results, the leaders and supporters of the coalition government gathered outside the Mandal Parishad Development Office to celebrate the massive victory.

After winning the 2019 General and Assembly elections, the YSRCP had started a massive pushback in Kuppam, trying to reduce Chandrababu Naidu’s influence in his constituency. It almost succeeded when Kuppam municipality was won by the YSRCP, but now the order seems to have been restored with the TDP’s win.