After postponing elections to local bodies in March citing Covid-19 pandemic, State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar shot off a letter to Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney on the reorganization of districts in Andhra Pradesh.

In the letter, Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar said since the elections to the local bodies will be held reorganizing districts was not appropriate. He said the elections to the local bodies will be held in 13 districts, and hence the number of districts cannot be more than 13.

The State government has kickstarted the process of reorganization of districts. An expert panel to study various aspects related to new district formation was constituted by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Recently, Jagan held a meeting with the expert panel headed by Neelam Sawhney.

There seems to be some uncertainty over the exact number of new districts to be created. Jagan has decided to increase the number of districts to 26 from the existing 13. The districts will be made based on the Lok Sabha constituencies.

In the letter, Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar told the Chief Secretary that the Election Code is effective in the state and asked her to stop the process till the local body polls get commenced. The letter from Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar came a day after the Supreme Court directed the AP government to seek permission from the SEC to ground any welfare scheme or development works.