While it is yet to establish whether the contentious letter in circulation was actually written by him or fake, the opposition parties reaction and the government’s action initially proves that State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar is a mole of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and is a thorn for chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The TDP had led a delegation of all opposition parties to Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan complaining against the chief minister and the ruling party besides seeking protection to the SEC.
The State government had increased security to the SEC office, besides initiating the inquiry into the authenticity of the letter.
The chief minister held discussions with DGP and the Intelligence Wing chief to find out the origin of the letter and its leakage to the social media.
The chief minister also held consultations with his close aids in the party and government as the content of the letter was highly derogatory and objectionable to the government and the ruling party, besides the office of the chief minister, the chief secretary and the director general of police.
Going by the content, if the letter was written by the SEC himself, though he declined it earlier, the SEC had made more political comments rather than a bureaucratic observation.
Heading a constitutional body that works with the state government, unlike the Election Commission of India, the SEC was not expected to make such highly derogatory remarks against the government and one political party.
The incidents that he had quoted to blame the ruling party for violence were all the claims of the TDP. Even the video clips that he is in possession, were all supplied by the TDP and not the officials or the police.
He doesn’t have any evidence whatsoever to prove that the TDP also indulged in violence. That way, he is giving a clean chit to the TDP in the entire episode, indirectly projecting the TDP ranks as the holy cows or saints.
If this is how he wants to hold the election for the local bodies even after the six weeks, it would certainly be a tough time for the government and the ruling party and going to be a good opportunity for the TDP. Thus, he is giving an edge to the TDP while functioning as head of a constitutional body.
If he works this way, it would not be easy for the government and the ruling party. As some reports suggest, the government is thinking on the lines of having three commissioners for the state election commission.
It is to be seen how Jagan Mohan Reddy government handles this thorn in the flesh in the days to come.
It is also an important in AP politics and the asserting capability of Jagan Mohan Reddy against the every TDP mole in the government and outside the government.