The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) issued an order on Thursday, October 21, 2024, suspending all polling activities across 100 urban local bodies after the Supreme Court directed it to postpone the final candidate list until October 25. The order, signed by the SEC, stated that the commission would examine submissions from the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and affected candidates before deciding whether to extend nomination deadlines in areas where law‑and‑order problems had prevented filings.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana of the Supreme Court’s vacation bench found prima facie merit in YSRCP’s claim that violence had blocked a majority of its candidates from filing nominations and asked the SEC to decide by October 22 whether to extend the deadlines.
TDP President Palla Srinivasa Rao, speaking to ANI, said the government would abide by the Supreme Court’s orders and that the SEC alone would determine any extensions.
The SEC will gather reports from collectors, district election authorities, and police superintendents, then issue a decision on October 22, 2024, to either restore polling or further postpone the process.
In the city of Vijayawada, a YSRCP candidate named Ramesh Patel, who had been unable to file his nomination due to a mob attack on his office, said he will await the SEC’s ruling, hoping the extension will allow him to contest.