Undoubtedly, State Election Commissioner N Ramesh Kumar stood like a rock and he was fighting his war like a one-man army. All his strength has obviously come from the fact that he is the head of an autonomous, constitutional institution. However, the main challenge is coming from the manner in which the YCP regime has taken a serious view.

Right from the beginning, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his Ministers had given enough indications that the local polls will not be held as long as Nimmagadda is the SEC. Now, Nimmagadda brought it to such a point that the Government would have no choice but to bow down. Even then, the Jagan regime approached the High Court which will take up hearing on the Government’s petition against the SEC order today.

Analysts say that the YCP Government has been using the litigation in higher courts as an excuse to go ahead with its policies despite adverse judgements in the lower courts. It happened with the YCP colours on the Government buildings and also with the English medium in the schools.

What more, it has become a prestige issue for the CM. Whereas, the SEC is just using his constitutional authority to prove his point and assert his position. Even if the AP High Court favours the SEC today, the Government may not outright cooperate with the local polls. Like all other issues, this will also go to the higher court by which time Nimmagadda will retire.