Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan on Monday summoned State Election Commissioner (SEC) N. Ramesh Kumar and enquired the reasons for putting on hold the local body elections for about 45 days. The Election Commissioner on Sunday announced the postponement of MPTC, ZPTC, Municipalties and Gram Panchayat elections due to outbreak of Coronavirus in many countries, which spread to a few States in India. Cites Centre’s declarationMr. Ramesh Kumar explained that the Centre has declared the epidemic as a disaster and advised prevention of large gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Mr. Harichandan, who met Chief Minister Y.S. The Governor was also understood to have discussed the letter written by Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney on postponement of the local body polls and the steps being taken to contain Coronavirus spread in the State.

Source: The Hindu March 16, 2020 11:03 UTC