After the Andhra Pradesh (A.P.,) High Court (HC) allowed the conduct of the Gram Panchayat elections, the State Government moved the Supreme Court.
On the evening of the 21st of January, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) moved the Supreme Court against the decision of the State HC.
The YSRCP Government in their petition expressed health concern towards people. The Party said, conducting elections amid the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus and ongoing vaccination drive would be impossible.
In addition, the State Employees Union also said they would not be able to participate in the panchayat elections.
On the 8th of January, the State Election Commission (SEC) released the schedule of the Gram Panchayat elections amid the Novel Coronavirus.
However, the YSRCP Government opposed the SEC and moved the court. Initially, a single bench judge suspended the elections, later the A.P. High Court dismissed the single bench judge’s verdict and gave a green signal to the panchayat elections.
The ongoing tussle between the SEC and the State Government started when N.Ramesh Kumar, the State Election Commissioner of A.P., proposed to conduct the local body elections. The first proposal for holding elections to the panchayats was in March 2020.
Since then the YSRCP and the SEC are in conflict in terms of the election schedule.
As of now, the matter is pending with the Supreme Court, which would decide if the elections would be held or not.
As per released elections schedule, the Gram Panchayat elections would begin from the 5th of February in four phases.
Stay tuned for further updates.
