The cold war between the State Election Commissioner and Andhra Pradesh government has reached the High Court. The State EC also filed a writ petition in the High Court over funds being denied to the commission by the state government and that the latter was not co-operating for the upcoming local body elections. The High Court, which heard the case, directed the government to cooperate in all possible ways for the local body elections.
Lawyers who argued on behalf of the government said that Rs 39 lakhs out of Rs 40 lakhs were released and that there was no need for any specific order. The lawyers also told the High Court that it is the Election Commission which needed to consult the government.
However, the court finding fault with the statements made by the government’s lawyers, questioned whether a constitutional body should consult the government on every issue? The High Court has asked the Election Commission to file an affidavit specifying the issues wherein the government was not cooperating and adjourned the hearing.
What does the Constitution say?
As per Article 243(K) of the Constitution, the State Election Commission has certain powers. Both the Central Election Commission and the State Election Commission are independent Constitutional bodies. These organisations conduct elections within their jurisdiction. The State Electoral Commission conducts local body elections and the expenditure during the election year is high.
After the elections, the expenditure will be less and limited to the maintenance of the office. It is the responsibility of the state government to bear the expenditure of the State election Commission. The Election Commission will have to consult the Finance Secretary on the matters of expenditure. The Finance Ministry will look into it and make available funds to the State Election Commission.
What has happened in the case of AP?
There is not much difference in terms of State Election office expenditure. But it would require more funds when the State Election Commissions wants to hold local body elections. There may be differences in the expenditure depending on the population and geographies of the states. The Finance Department has the responsibility to release the fund no matter how much the election arrangements cost. Not only this, funds should be made available to the commission for pre-election preparations like training to the polling staff. However, a cold war is going on between the State Election Commissioner and the state government. Hence it is learnt that the required funds are not made available for the Commission.
No need to beg
There is no need for the Election Commission to beg the state for funds. However, it is enough to write a letter to the Finance Department officials on the required funds. In wake of the local body elections, the Commission requires about Rs 200 Crore. The Election Commissioner can start preparations only if the state government provides the funds. Arrangements prior to the conduct of the election and training to the staff will require large scale spending. It seems that as long as Nimmagadda continues as the Election Commissioner, the government may not go for local body elections and hence the funds were not made available.
