If the reports coming from New Delhi are correct, there is no possibility of holding early elections to either Lok Sabha or the state assemblies, including in Andhra Pradesh, even by a few days.
This is in contrary to the speculations that were doing rounds till recently that the Election Commission might announce the election schedule in the last week of February, to hold the elections in the last week of March or in the first week of April.
In 2019, the CEC announced the election schedule on March 10 and elections were held from April 11 to May 13. This time, it was expected that the schedule would be announced on or after February 20.
But according to reports, the EC will announce the schedule for Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections in five states only in the second week of March as it had done in 2019 general elections.
The EC team is yet to visit several other states to review the preparedness of the respective governments for the elections. It will visit Odisha from February 15 to 17. Later, it will tour Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
“The EC tours will continue till the first week of March. So, the notification is expected to come only in the second week of March, mostly after 10. As such, there is no possibility of holding early elections in Andhra Pradesh or elsewhere,” sources said.
