ANDHRA LOCAL BODIES MAY GO TO POLLS IN FEBRUARY 2021

Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar said the SEC has consulted all the political parties about conducting Panchayat Raj elections. He stated that there are no constitutional hurdles in conducting the elections. EC further noted that the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the state has improved with a drastic drop in daily caseload from more than 10,000 to 753. Kumar further said that the Telangana government is holding GHMC elections and that holding elections is a constitutional obligation.

Ramesh Kumar noted that the elections are necessary for getting central funds. He said the State Election Commission was in regular touch with the health ministry and health department to take stock of the current pandemic. He assured that the election to the local bodies will be held in the fairest and free manner.

On 17 March, the Supreme Court upheld the SEC decision to postpone local body elections in the state but lifted the Model Code of Conduct.

The State Election Commission (SEC) had postponed the election process of MPTC/ZPTC and urban local bodies citing the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a tearing hurry, the Jaganmohan Reddy government promulgated the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 to reduce the term of SEC to three years from five years. The Andhra Pradesh government had earlier removed Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as SEC. But the Andhra HC directed the state government to reinstate him as the state Election Commissioner.