The State Election Commission halted polls across 100 urban local bodies following Supreme Court directions. The pause allows officials to examine violence claims and consider extending nominations.Stock photo used for illustrationAmaravati,Oct 22, 2026 12:24 ISTThe Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission has halted elections to 100 urban local bodies following directions from the Supreme Court, news agency Press Trust of India reported.State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha on Wednesday ordered an immediate stop to further election proceedings in 13 municipal corporations and 87 municipalities and nagar panchayats.The commission had issued the election notification on October 14.
According to the schedule, nominations were filed from October 16 to 18, while the papers were scrutinised on October 19.“In view of the directions from the Supreme Court, the State Election Commission hereby orders that the further election process in respect of all 100 urban local bodies in the state shall be stopped forthwith,” Punetha said in an official release issued late on Wednesday, according to PTI. The decision followed a special leave petition filed by the YSR Congress Party in the Supreme Court against an Andhra Pradesh High Court order refusing to extend the nomination deadline, which ended on October 19.The Supreme Court directed the commission to postpone the publication of the final list of candidates until October 25.
It also asked Punetha to consider representations made by the YSRCP and several candidates. The court directed the commission to examine documents and electronic evidence submitted to it before deciding whether to extend the nomination deadline in urban local bodies where candidates may have been unable to file their papers because of the law-and-order situation.Punetha said the commission would issue an order on October 22 on extending the nomination deadline after obtaining reports from district administrations.
If extended, candidates would be given at least 48 hours from the publication of the decision, and the election notification would be amended accordingly.The YSRCP filed the petition through advocate-on-record Mahfooz A Nazki. The party informed the Supreme Court about alleged violence during the nomination process in Punganur, Rayachoti, Kadapa and Tirupati.It alleged that YSRCP candidates were attacked, threatened and prevented from reaching nomination centres.
The party asked the court to direct the authorities to provide adequate police protection and ensure that candidates could file their nominations “without fear”.The election process in all 100 urban local bodies will remain halted while the State Election Commission considers the representations and evidence, obtains reports from district administrations and decides whether to extend the nomination deadline.- Ends