Chennai: The State Election Commission (SEC) today cancelled the notification announcing the dates for the local body polls, which was released recently.
The SEC has also called back the election officials who were assigned for the task. The model code of conduct which was implemented has also been revoked.
State Election Commissioner R Palaniswamy today held a meeting with the senior officials, at the State Election Commission’s office at Koyambedu here, regarding the announcement of the new dates for the civic polls.
The recent developments have come a day after the Supreme Court decided to put on hold the elections for local bodies in nine new districts, carved out from four existing ones, in Tamilnadu for complying with legal formalities such as delimitation and reservation in four months.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde considered the suggestion put forward by the Tamilnadu government that it was willing to put on hold the local body polls in the nine districts for complying with legal formalities such as a fresh delimitation exercise and for deciding the issue of reservation for women and SC/ST candidates.
The bench, also comprising justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, said, ”There shall be no legal impediment in holding the elections in the rest of districts of Tamilnadu”.
It directed the Tamilnadu State Election Commission to conduct the delimitation exercise and other formalities afresh and conclude them in four months.
The bench also said the local body elections in the remaining districts of the State will be held as per the earlier schedule.
The State Election Commission had on 2 December announced that the local body polls in Tamilnadu will be held in two phases – on 27 and 30 December.