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Suspense Continues Over ZP, MP Poll Results In AP!

Suspense Continues Over ZP, MP Poll Results In AP!

Stalemate continues over the announcement of results of the elections held for Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs) in Andhra Pradesh even after a month.

Though it is a foregone conclusion that the ruling YSR Congress party would win more than 90 per cent of the zilla and mandal parishads, the results would give a lot of relief to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government as it could focus on the works in these local bodies.

In all, there are 660 ZPTCs and 9,984 MPTCs in Andhra Pradesh, of which as many as 126 ZPTCs and 2,363 MPTCs belonging to the ruling YSRC were elected unanimously during the beginning of the election process in March 2020.

The division bench of the state high court, which on April 7 cleared the decks for the conduct of elections to ZPTC and MPTCs as per the schedule on April 8, however, ordered that the counting of votes should not be held on April 10.

It also directed that results should not be declared and referred the issue back to the single judge bench to settle the issue.

The issue came up before the single judge bench on April 15, but the state election commission could not file the counter-affidavit on time and it got postponed April 19. Later, it was adjourned twice and finally, the hearings were completed on May 4.

Arguing on behalf of the SEC, senior advocate C V Mohan Reddy said the petitioner – Varla Ramaiah had no locus standi to question the SEC as he was not a contestant in the elections. 

He also pointed out that the four-week time for implementation of model code of conduct was not made mandatory by the Supreme Court. It only gave a suggestion, while hearing the case in a particular context.

If the code is implemented for four weeks, all the ongoing developmental works would come to a halt, he argued.

Senior advocate Vedula Venkataramana argued on behalf of Varla Ramaiah, while advocate general Sriram Subrahmanyam argued in favour of the government. 

The advocate general requested that the high court give clearance to the SEC to declare the results as the election process was over.

He said the government had spent over Rs 150 crore on the elections and if the process is stalled at this stage, it would pose additional burden on the exchequer.

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Tags: Andhra Pradesh