Andhra Pradesh: High Court stays MPTC and ZPTC elections in the state

Andhra Pradesh High Court has given a rude shock to the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The High Court has stayed the two-day Parishad elections in the state. The High Court has ruled that the MPTC and ZPTC in the state should be suspended. The High Court, which heard the petition filed by the opposition on Tuesday, stayed the notification issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) regarding the Parishad elections.

The petitioners explained that the 4-week election code was not imposed as per the directions of the Supreme Court during the hearing in the High Court. The High Court agreed with these arguments and imposed stay on the election notification. SEC also directed Nilam Sawhney to file an affidavit on the matter on the 15th of this month.

It is learnt that soon after Nilam Sawhney took over as the new SEC, she issued a notification regarding the MPTC and ZPTC elections. The election process was ordered to be completed within a week at a time when the coronavirus was spreading. In protest of the SEC decision, the Telugu Desam Party boycotted the elections. Also, BJP, TDP and Janasena parties have filed petitions in the high court. The High Court ruled in favour of suspending the election process at this juncture.