In an interesting development, a Jana Sena Party-backed trade union registered a surprise victory in the workers’ union elections at Andhra Paper Mill in Rajahmundry, defeating both the YSR Congress Party-backed alliance and the Telugu Desam Party-affiliated union.
The election witnessed a three-cornered contest involving the Jana Sena Front, a YSRCP-backed alliance and the TDP-affiliated union.
Notably, the ruling NDA partners did not contest together, despite jointly securing a landslide victory in the 2024 Assembly elections.
The Jana Sena-AITUC-FITU United Front emerged victorious with 258 votes. The YSRCP-backed alliance finished second with 228 votes, while the TDP-affiliated TNTUC secured 220 votes and came third.
Jana Sena leaders described the result as evidence of the party’s growing grassroots strength in Andhra Pradesh, despite it being the state’s third-largest political party in terms of vote share.
Following the announcement of the results, Jana Sena leaders celebrated the victory and described it as the party’s first major success in workers’ union elections.
They said the outcome demonstrated Jana Sena’s ability to win elections independently. Party workers waved flags and organised victory celebrations.
Rajanagaram Jana Sena MLA Battula Balarama Krishna congratulated the victorious leaders of the Jana Sena Front and praised their performance in the election.
The result has also triggered political discussion over the future of the ruling NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh.
Although the BJP, TDP and Jana Sena contested the 2024 Assembly elections together, the parties chose to contest the workers’ union election separately.
The development has fuelled speculation over whether the alliance partners could also consider contesting the upcoming local body elections independently.
