Jana Sena’s urban test: 25 local bodies to lead, and a share above its 2024 ratio

Jana Sena did not win control of a single urban body in the 2021 municipal elections. In the 28 October civic polls, it leads the ruling alliance’s challenge in 25: four municipal corporations and 21 municipalities and nagar panchayats. Under the amended municipal laws, voters elect mayors and chairpersons directly this time, so these posts will not be settled in a council hall. Jana Sena’s nominees must win them at the ballot box.

What the alliance gave Jana Sena

Of the 17 corporations in the mid-October deal, the Telugu Desam Party leads in 11, Jana Sena in four (Vijayawada, Eluru, Kakinada and Srikakulam) and the BJP in two. Of 106 municipalities and nagar panchayats, the TDP took 78, Jana Sena 21 and the BJP seven: 89, 25 and nine bodies in all.

Thirteen of Jana Sena’s 21 towns lie in north Andhra and the Godavari districts, the belt that carried it in 2024: Rajam, Palakonda, Salur, Tuni, Gollaprolu, Pithapuram, Samalkot, Amalapuram, Mummidivaram, Nidadavole, Narasapuram, Bhimavaram and Tadepalligudem. Four are in the Krishna-Guntur region (Tiruvuru, Pedana, Tenali, Chilakaluripet), one in Prakasam (Darsi) and three in Rayalaseema (Madakasira, Puttaparthi, Puttur).

The party’s first list of 14 candidates, released at Mangalagiri on 17 October, named former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna for mayor of Vijayawada and Reddy Appala Naidu for Eluru, plus 12 chairperson nominees, including Dr Beera Vijay Sekhar in Pithapuram, Pawan Kalyan’s own seat. Wards are being shared town by town; no statewide ward total has been published.

In this round, 100 urban bodies vote on 28 October (Vizianagaram on 29 October), and votes are counted on 30 October.

How strong Jana Sena is now

The party’s record since 2024 is the best in its history: all 21 Assembly seats it contested, and both Lok Sabha seats, Kakinada and Machilipatnam. With candidates in only 21 constituencies, it still drew about 6.9 per cent of the statewide Assembly vote. Pawan Kalyan is Deputy Chief Minister, in charge of Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, and Environment and Forests; Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies) and Kandula Durgesh (Tourism and Culture) also sit in the cabinet.

Launching a fresh membership drive on 15 February 2026, Pawan Kalyan said active membership had climbed from about 6 lakh before the 2024 elections to 12.98 lakh after them.

Did Jana Sena get its due? Telugu Scope’s analysis

At the top, yes. Jana Sena leads in 25 of 123 bodies, about 20 per cent, and four of 17 corporations, about 24 per cent. In 2024 it contested 21 of 175 Assembly seats (12 per cent) and two of 25 Lok Sabha seats (8 per cent). Against either ratio, or its vote share, the party has a clearly larger slice of the urban map, and it holds places that matter: Vijayawada, the state’s commercial hub, and Kakinada and Eluru in the Godavari heartland.

The tighter test lies below the mayor’s chair. In Vijayawada, now 86 divisions instead of 64, Jana Sena pressed for about 30, and the division talks with the TDP were among the last to close. That is where cadre expectations run highest. Pawan Kalyan made the case on 11 October at Kakavada in the Rampachodavaram constituency: “We must respect the alliance dharma and ensure appropriate representation for Janasainiks and Veera Mahilas.” He added: “When we stood in support of the alliance in 2024, not a single Janasainik aspired for a political post.”

Our verdict: the headline share is fair, and generous against the 2024 ratio. Whether it feels fair on the ground depends on how many ward tickets in the party’s strongholds went to long-serving workers.

Where the party needs to be careful

• Friendly fights. In Tiruvuru, allotted to Jana Sena’s P Madhavi, local TDP MLA Kolikapudi Srinivasa Rao backed another candidate, Naga Sravani, during nomination week; in Salur, TDP leaders sought a rethink. In a direct election, a second alliance name on the ballot splits the vote.
• Working with TDP cadre. On 21 October Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu told TDP leaders to campaign in coordination with Jana Sena and the BJP. Turning that into door-to-door work is Jana Sena’s task too.
• Newcomers and old hands. Several nominees, Radhakrishna among them, are recent entrants. Workers will measure the party by Pawan Kalyan’s own call to “honour the trust of those who stood by us without seeking any positions of power.”
• One star campaigner. Campaign time is short, and Pawan Kalyan also runs big government departments. From Palakonda to Puttur, the 21 MLAs, two MPs and local leaders must carry much of the load.
• Thin regions. In Prakasam and Rayalaseema the party leads in just four towns; results there will show how far its reach extends beyond its coastal base.
• The rural round. MPTC and ZPTC polls follow on 3 November, then panchayats. Rural seats are being shared district by district, and no statewide Jana Sena figure has been announced.

A strong count in Vijayawada and the Godavari towns on 30 October would turn the perfect score of 2024 into a lasting foundation.