Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar recently concluded the local elections in Andhra Pradesh and is gearing up to conduct the state’s municipal elections. There have been speculations that he would be conducting the Zilla Parishad and Mandal elections, too, after this. However, it looks like this won’t come to fruition, keeping in mind what the SEC has said recently.
Previously, when a circular regarding the Parishad elections was released, Nimmagadda also released an order stating that any area where candidates are elected unanimously should be looked into properly, and proper investigation should be done in the matter. The government went to the High Court regarding this order, and the HC’s verdict was in favour of the government. The HC said that there was no need to conduct any probe into the unanimous election of candidates.
Speaking to the media after the conclusion of the local elections, Nimmagadda spoke about various things but was hesitant and inconclusive when it came to talking about the Parishad elections. He said that he hadn’t taken any decision regarding the Parishad elections, and sounded like he might not conduct them at all, and even added that there are certain legal issues regarding the issue. Several sources are saying that Nimmagadda might hand over the Parishad elections to the SEC that will step in after him.
On the other hand, the AP government has been boasting about its magnanimous victory in the recently concluded elections. However, the way the government behaved concerning unanimous elections and how it sought the HC’s help has been drawing a lot of criticism from opposition parties, who are questioning the necessity behind such trepidation.