Elections to the local bodies in Andhra Pradesh should be held within in one month as per the directions of the High Court, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy told officials during a review meeting in Amaravati.
According to a press release by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) Jagan said that concerned officials would approach the State Election Commission on Wednesday to inform them that the state machinery was prepared for the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC), Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC), panchayat and municipal elections within the stipulated time by the High Court.
"An ordinance has been promulgated to bring about changes in the Panchayat Raj Act and also for completely eradicating the influence of money and liquor in the elections," the release stated.
The release stated that the Chief Minister directed the police machinery to be firm in the conduct of the elections, adding that "Any person found distributing money during the elections would be debarred and also sent to jail for a period of three years."
The responsibility of curtailing the flow of liquor and money during the elections would be given to the District Superintendents of Police.
The services of 'Police Mitras' and Mahila police in the villages would be fully utilised for the purpose, the release stated.
The Chief Minister said that a mobile app was also being created to "curb irregularities in the local body elections as was being done in the general elections and it should be ensured that the data reaches the police and election officials who will swing into action."
The ordinance copy should be prominently displayed in all village secretariats, Jagan added.
On Monday, the state's High Court had pulled up the state government and scrapped a Government Order (GO) that sought to provide 59.85% reservation for SC, ST and BC communities in the upcoming elections.
The HC had asked the state government to follow the 50% cap on reservations as laid down by the Supreme Court and directed it to come up with a new quota system for the polls.