Consensus needed for Andhra local body polls

It appears that moves are afoot in Andhra Pradesh to resume the stalled elections to local bodies. The first sign of this came on Thursday night when State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar sent an invite to all political parties for consultations on October 28.

The state government was quick to clarify that it had no intention of holding the elections in view of the pandemic and a possible second wave of infections. Given the bad blood between the SEC and the government, yet another collision course cannot be ruled out.

The elections to the local bodies were earlier scheduled to be held in March. At the time, the SEC had unilaterally deferred them, after the process began, citing Covid fears. In hindsight, he was right in doing so. The Jagan government had differed with him and subsequently, sought to appoint another SEC in his place through an ordinance that was struck down by the court.

Now, have the views of the two sides changed? The tenure of the local bodies expired in August 2018. But the then powers-that-be showed no urgency to hold the elections within six months of the expiry of the term of the local bodies. The process began only with a rap from the courts and after the Assembly polls in 2019. Whether the delay was caused due to political considerations is anybody’s guess.

Had elections been held on time, this problem would not have arisen now.  Coronavirus cases in the state have crossed the eight lakh mark with the positivity rate hovering at 10-11%. Over 6,000 people have lost their lives and currently, there are 31,721 active cases with the state still clocking 3,000-4,000 cases a day.

The moot question is should a democratic process be paused or should people’s lives be risked? Elections are underway in Bihar and a few states are gearing up for local elections. But that can’t be a reason to rush into an election. In AP, the logic cited in March still holds good. It would be better if the situation stabilises further. If polls are to be held, consensus is a must.