Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday sought a detailed report from the State Election Commission on the holding of polls for the Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations and five municipalities that has been scheduled for April 30.
The Governor, who is presently in Puducherry, called State Election Commissioner C. Partha Sarathi and discussed the polls amidst media reports on the rapid increase in Covid-19 positive cases due to public gatherings in connection with the polls.
She was also reacting to representations made by the Opposition parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress urging that the elections be postponed.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy wrote a letter to the Governor to stop the elections to the urban local bodies in view of the pandemic and the Supreme Court itself declaring it as a national emergency.
Official sources told this correspondent that the Governor was concerned about the safety of people and wanted to know the measures taken by the SEC to ensure that the political parties strictly follow Covid 19 restrictions.
The Governor is under pressure from political parties and social groups to order the postponement of the elections as, otherwise, the lives of thousands of people would be at risk.
The SEC is said to have briefed the Governor about various precautions taken by the commission including making social distancing and mask mandatory for voters on polling day. He referred to the Panchayat Raj Act necessitating the SEC to take concurrence of the state government on conducting polls. He explained that the campaign in municipal polls was very localised.
When contacted, Partha Sarathi said he was constantly monitoring with collectors and top police officials on whether or not the candidates were following Covid regulations. There are no public meetings, he said adding that the campaign would end three days before polls instead of the regular 48 hours.
“Elections are held in West Bengal also with all precautions and there are no precedents of elections being postponed after notification was issued,” he added.
