Can a nomination deadline move when candidates say they were physically stopped from filing? The YSR Congress Party has asked the Supreme Court to say so in the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Polls, alleging violence, and wants protection, more time and a hold on unopposed declarations.
New Delhi: Challenging an October 18 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court that declined to extend the nomination period for the Urban Local Body elections, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) has moved the Supreme Court by way of a Special Leave Petition. It alleges that assaults and threats stopped its candidates from filing papers in several towns [YSRCP v. State Election Commission and Others].
The petition is filed through party General Secretary Lella Appireddy and drawn by Advocate-on-Record Mahfooz A. Nazki. No bench has been assigned and no listing date was available at the time of writing. The allegations below are those of the petitioner and have not been tested by any court.
Five directions, and the argument behind them
The YSRCP asks for five things: police protection for candidates, an extension of the nomination deadline, additional and alternative nomination centres, permission for obstructed candidates to file during the extended period, and a stay on declaring candidates elected unopposed in the affected wards until further orders.
At the core of its case is the argument that the bar on judicial interference in elections is a rule of judicial restraint and not an absolute prohibition, and that constitutional courts can issue directions that aid the conduct of elections. It adds that the expiry of a deadline should not shut the door where obstruction itself prevented candidates from filing.
The allegations, town by town
According to the petition, candidates were assaulted, threatened or physically stopped from reaching nomination centres, with incidents alleged in Punganur, Rayachoti, Kadapa and Tirupati. In Kadapa, a candidate’s nomination papers were allegedly snatched and torn. Nine candidates for the Tirupati Municipal Corporation were allegedly kept from entering the Returning Officers’ offices, and the convoy of YSRCP MP P.V. Midhun Reddy was allegedly attacked while he accompanied candidates.
The party has separately said it would not contest the Punganur municipality at all, citing violence and inadequate security. On the other side, police are understood to have issued notices asking Midhun Reddy and another party leader not to enter Punganur, which officials described as a step to prevent a breach of law and order. The ruling side’s response to the allegations was not available at the time of writing, and no finding has been made on either account.
From the High Court to the Supreme Court
Nominations for the Urban Local Body elections were open from October 16 to October 18, 2026, with the window closing at 3 pm on Sunday. On October 15, a Single Judge of the High Court declined the omnibus relief the party sought and left individual candidates free to approach the Election Officers concerned.
The party says the trouble began on October 16, and that it then asked the State Election Commission for more time. The Commission directed adequate security but did not move the deadline. On October 18, the High Court refused to extend the period by even a day, holding that it could not interfere with an election process already under way. The Commission had told the High Court that nominations stood closed and that scrutiny would begin on Monday.
Why courts usually stay out
Article 243ZG of the Constitution bars courts from questioning the validity of laws on municipal constituencies and the allotment of seats, and provides that no municipal election is to be called in question except by an election petition presented to the authority and in the manner the State law prescribes. That bar is the usual answer courts give to requests to alter an election timetable midway.
The Supreme Court has, however, intervened in local polls where it found the process compromised. Earlier this month it set aside elections in 50 Punjab municipal wards and ordered fresh polls within six weeks. Whether it will entertain the YSRCP’s plea, and on what terms, is yet to be seen.
The calendar ahead
According to the election calendar reported for the affected bodies, scrutiny of nominations was fixed for October 19, the final list of candidates for October 21, polling for October 28 and counting for October 30. A separate YSRCP plea for deployment of paramilitary forces at polling stations and counting centres, and a petition seeking nomination centres at district headquarters, are also before the High Court.
Case Title: YSRCP v. State Election Commission and Others (Special Leave Petition against the Andhra Pradesh High Court order of October 18, 2026)
Petitioner: Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, through General Secretary Lella Appireddy
Date of filing: October 19, 2026
Appearances: Advocate-on-Record Mahfooz A. Nazki for the petitioner