The Election Commission of India has finally come down and accepted AP CM Chandrababu Naidu’s appeal for lifting the election code in the cyclone affected districts. The EC gave the exemption for the three North Coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam and also East Godavari. Naidu has earlier written an open letter to Election Commission and he promptly hailed the EC green signal.

Fani, the extremely severe cyclonic storm, crossed the Odisha coast. Its impact was strongly felt in the North Coastal Andhra districts as the winds reached speeds of 150 to 200 kmph. Naidu has planned his visit to the affected areas but the poll code came as a hurdle for his official visit in the districts. There are even obstructions for Naidu to conduct review meetings on the cyclone preparedness of the administration. The EC had no choice but to give exemption for AP also since it has already lifted the code in the vulnerable parts in Odisha state. The EC decision brought the curtains down on an embarrassing political controversy going on between the TDP and the rival parties. Now the decks are cleared for official visits of Naidu in his capacity as the chief minister of the state.