
The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) has announced that it will hold panchayat elections in four phases. The elections are scheduled to be held on February 5, 9, 13, and 17. The state government has strongly objected to the announcement saying that the Covid-19 situation in the state is not conducive to hold elections.
Chief Secretary Adityanath Das had already met SEC N Ramesh Kumar and conveyed that the government anticipates a second wave of Covid cases and thus it is not the right time to hold elections. However, the SEC rejected the government’s appeal to postpone polls by 2-3 months. The SEC’s decision to hold the elections has again put the SEC N Ramesh Kumar and the government on a confrontational path.
Last March, when Kumar postponed the local body elections citing Covid-19 protocols, an angry Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy chided him and accusing him of taking a unilateral decision. The government also removed Kumar as SEC. However, the Supreme Court, and later the AP High Court, reinstated him.