AP govt tells High Court Panchayat elections not possible amid Coronavirus vaccination

The State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar has once again received unexpected shock by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. This time in the AP High Court, the government has trapped Ramesh with logic. Andhra Pradesh has decided not to hold elections in February as the corona vaccination process is about to begin. A hearing was held on Tuesday in the AP High Court on the conduct of panchayat elections in AP. The AP government has filed an additional affidavit on the conduct of the elections.

The YSRCP government told the high court that the central government had issued guidelines on the corona vaccination process in January and February and that personnel from all departments, including the police, should be deployed to manage the vaccination process. The centre said the second dose should be given four weeks after the first dose. The affidavit states that the vaccination process should be carried out in the same way as the electoral process and that the vaccination process should be given priority in terms of public health.

So the state government has decided not to hold panchayat elections in February. The SEC counsel told the court that he had received the additional affidavit last night and needed time to file a counterclaim. The court adjourned the case till next Friday.