Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney wrote to the State Election Commissioner (SEC) N Ramesh Kumar on Sunday, saying that the state is prepared to handle the containment of COVID-19 for three to four weeks, and that the situation can be unpredictable after that. He requested the SEC to revoke the decision to postpone the local body election process in the wake of COVID-19 disease.
Stating that the state government’s Medical and Health Department has taken necessary precautions to contain the disease in the state, Sawhney wrote, “As on date, there is only one confirmed positive case and that too, of a person who has returned from Italy. This is an indication that at present, local transmission has not set in and that the spread of coronavirus in the state is under control.”
The Chief Secretary further wrote that since neither local nor community transmission has begun, an outbreak of alarming proportion is unlikely in the next few weeks.
Several states, including Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, have announced a partial or complete shutdown of educational institutions, commercial complexes and other public spaces, and have barred people from gathering in large numbers, in an effort to prevent the outbreak.
The Chief Secretary also took objection to SEC’s decision to postpone elections without consulting with state government officials. While making the announcement, State Election Commissioner Ramesh Kumar had mentioned that the Central government had issued an advisory to state governments to control large gatherings, while also declaring the disease a notified disaster. Sawhney wrote that the Indian government’s notification was primarily made so that state governments could access SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) rather than to declare the disease a notified disaster.
The letter also stated that concerns regarding the spread of the disease due to elections can be addressed by issuing advisories on campaigning, and congregation at the polling stations. “Candidates can be encouraged to use electronic media for campaigning and queues on the poll day can be restricted and staggered by the election staff,” the letter said.
The letter argued that the elections were necessary since local bodies have a vital role in containing the COVID-19 disease by dealing with home quarantining, surveys of possibly affected persons.
“However, looking at the trend in other countries, in spite of all efforts, nothing can be predicted of the situation after four weeks from now. Thus, any postponement of elections will make the conduct of elections very uncertain, depriving the state of the availability of the third-tier of government, which is critical at this juncture,” the Chief Secretary wrote.
Chief Minister Jagan had earlier expressed his dissatisfaction with the SEC’s decision, alleging that the coronavirus outbreak was being used as an excuse by the SEC to retain power for a longer period. He also alleged that the SEC was making decisions under Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s influence.