HC rejects YSRCP plea to extend municipal poll nomination deadline

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed a YSRCP petition seeking an extension of the deadline for filing nominations for the urban local body elections, holding that it could not intervene in the election process after issuance of the election notification.

The deadline for filing nominations ended at 3 pm on Sunday. YSRCP approached the court alleging that its candidates had been prevented from submitting nomination papers in several places and sought additional time to enable them to enter the electoral contest.

During the hearing, the State Election Commission (SEC) informed the court that the nomination process had concluded and that scrutiny of nomination papers was scheduled to begin on Monday. Accepting the SEC’s submissions, the court dismissed the plea seeking an extension of the deadline. The ruling came amid allegations by YSRCP that obstruction and intimidation had prevented its candidates from filing nominations in several constituencies. YSRCP advocates told the court that, in some locations, nomination process had allegedly remained incomplete even after the deadline. They cited incidents in Kadapa, Pulivendula, Rajampet, Rayachoti and Kamalapuram, and alleged that some candidates had been taken away by unidentified persons.

The SEC reiterated that the nomination process had ended and that scrutiny would commence on Monday. The court dismissed the plea seeking an extension of the filing deadline.

Two other election-related issues are also before the court. A petition seeking the establishment of nomination-filing centres at district headquarters is under consideration, while a plea seeking the deployment of paramilitary forces is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.

YSRCP has sought elections under paramilitary supervision, excluding the state police from security arrangements at all polling stations and counting centres. The outcome of that plea could determine the next legal confrontation over security arrangements for the municipal elections.

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