Andhra local body polls stuck in a legal limbo, may not happen before Nov

The much awaited Panchayati Raj elections in Andhra Pradesh are to be delayed further, at least by another five months. Amidst the pandemic, there are some legal tangles that are the polls. The Supreme Court said that it is going to hear in a couple of weeks a batch of pleas, including the one filed by the Andhra Pradesh government, challenging the High Court order which struck down an Ordinance curtailing the tenure of the State Election Commissioner (SEC) from five to three years.

 By reducing the tenure, Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar was sacked; however, he was reinstated by the High Court.

On 29 May, the HC had struck down the Ordinance that was issued on 10 April. The HC has quashed the appointment of the retired judge of Madras High court V. Kanagaraj as the state election commissioner. However, the Andhra government refused to restore Kumar as SEC again by saying he is a biased person.

Andhra BJP leader Lanka Dinakar told The Daily Guardian, “The Supreme Court has rejected the argument of the Andhra government. CM Jaganmohan Reddy’s behaviour has exposed his mala fide intentions against the SEC for the last 6 months.”

On the issue, TDP spokesman Pattabhi said, “SC has refused to stay the order of the High Court and this implies Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to continue as the State Election Commissioner. The government should further facilitate him to take the charge otherwise it tantamount to the contempt of court.”

 The panchayat elections in Andhra were supposed to be held in March, But citing Covid-19, SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh has postponed the polls for six weeks. The government afterward removed him by the Ordinance, saying that he did not consult the government before making the decision.