Cannot hold polls due to Covid: Jagan govt to HC

The Jagan government, which was in a hurry to hold elections to local bodies in March during the early outbreak of Covid-19, has filed a petition in the High Court stating that it cannot conduct the polls in view of the pandemic situation.

Hearing the petition, the High Court directed the state government to inform the same to the Election Commission while posting the next hearing to November 2. The same YSRCP ruling was mighty miffed with state election commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar for postponing the elections to urban and rural local bodies scheduled to be held in the last week of March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Jagan government forced Ramesh Kumar to retire by promulgating an ordinance reducing the tenure of the SEC from five years to three years. The ordinance which amended Section 200 of the AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, even got Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan assent. The Chief Minister also alleged that Ramesh Kumar was favouring TDP president and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu as both belonged to the same caste.

Subsequently, Ramesh Kumar had written a letter to the Union Home Ministry seeking additional security for himself and his family, fearing a threat to his life from the ruling party leaders.