Why Hold Elections When AP Is Suffering Cyclone Destruction?

The Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to go ahead with local body elections, both urban and rural, at a time when the state is reeling under the devastation caused by Cyclone Arnab, has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters.

Elections to municipalities and municipal corporations are scheduled to be held on November 1, while the State Election Commission has postponed the MPTC and ZPTC elections by two days, from November 3 to November 5, due to the cyclone.

However, former Rajya Sabha member V Vijaya Sai Reddy and environmentalist Bolisetti Satyanarayana have called for the postponement of local body elections in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of the severe damage caused by Cyclone Arnab.

They argued that the government and administrative machinery should prioritise disaster response, relief and rehabilitation rather than continuing with election-related activities while several parts of the state are grappling with heavy rainfall, strong winds and widespread disruption.

The two leaders maintained that the immediate priority should be people’s safety and the restoration of essential services.

Sai Reddy urged the government to assess the losses and give people sufficient time to recover from the disaster before proceeding with the elections.

“Local body elections could be conducted at a later date,” he said, arguing that it would be inappropriate to continue with the electoral process when a substantial section of the state’s population was dealing with the consequences of the cyclone.

Sai Reddy went a step further, demanding that the existing election process be cancelled and a fresh notification issued after the state had recovered from the impact of Cyclone Arnab.

He contended that the election process had already become controversial and that proceeding with it amid the current crisis would be unjustified.

Environmental activist Bolisetti Satyanarayana urged the state government to seek a postponement of the elections by at least one week.

He said the deployment of government officials for election duties could affect disaster management operations at a time when several districts required immediate administrative intervention.