The stalemate over the conduct of local body elections in Andhra Pradesh continues, as the Jagan Mohan Reddy government categorically told the state election commission on Friday that there is no possibility of conducting the elections in February.
A three-member committee, comprising chief secretary Adityanath Das, principal secretary (panchayat raj) Gopalakrishna Dwivedi and principal secretary (medical and health) A K Singhal, had an hour-long meeting with SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as per the directions of the state high court.
The committee disagreed with the proceedings given by the SEC for the conduct of local body elections in February.
The committee members told Nimmagadda that because of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation and vaccination programme, the local body polls could be postponed.
Nimmagadda brought to the notice of the chief secretary a statement made by senior YSR Congress party leader that the local body elections could be held only after the by-elections to Tirupati Lok Sabha seat and MLC elections in April or May, and also after he (Nimmagadda) demitted his office on March 31.
“His comments reflect the views of the state government, which is not in the right spirit of the constitution,” Nimmagadda complained.
Adityanath Das told Nimmagadda that the constitutional body like SEC should not go by the statement of non-officials and the government would only go by rules.
“The entire government machinery is busy with vaccination programme and fighting the pandemic. The SEC should work out a revised schedule for the elections after the pandemic is over,” he said.