Vijayawada, Jan 11 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh High Court here on Monday suspended the election schedule announced by State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar for holding the local body polls.

The SEC had announced the schedule for conducting the local body elections in four phases in February. However, the Andhra Pradesh government opposed conducting local body polls citing the coronavirus pandemic.

The court stated that in the interests of the welfare of citizens of Andhra Pradesh it was not advisable to hold the local body polls in February as sought by the SEC. The court stated that citizen's health was a priority and no activity that interferes with the vaccination procedure should be held in the state.

The AP government even took the matter to the legal cell and sought the intervention of the High Court. The High Court suspended the conduct of panchayat elections in Andhra Pradesh contending that the election process would interfere with the vaccination schedule.

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