The Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 2 issued transfer orders for top officials in five States namely Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The poll body also appointed special observers in the states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar which have a population of more than 7 crore.
Both steps have been taken to ensure a level playing field during the upcoming elections.
The decision on the transfers was taken as part of the regular review by the Commission during a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the ECI said in a statement in New Delhi.
The officials transferred include District Magistrate of Udaigiri (Assam), DMs and SPs of Bhojpur and Nawada districts (Bihar),
SP Deoghar (Jharkhand), DM of Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur, SP of Angul, Behrampur, Khurda, Rourkela and DCP Cuttack and IG Central (Odisha), DM of Krishna, Ananthpuramu, Tirupati districts, SP of Prakasham, Palnadu, Chittoor, Anathpuramu, Nellore districts and IGP Guntur Range (Andhra Pradesh).
“Under the directive, all the transferred officials have been asked to hand over the charge to their immediate junior officer and these officers will not be assigned any election duty till completion of the General Elections 2024. The respective state governments have been directed to send a panel of names of IAS and IPS officers to the Commission,” the poll body said.
The special observers who are former civil servants with brilliant track records have also been deployed in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where simultaneous elections to the Assembly are also being held.
Apart from this, special Expenditure Observers have also been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the statement said.
These observers will be stationed at the state headquarters and if needed, tour sensitive areas. They can seek requisite inputs from time to time from the observers deployed in the parliamentary constituencies, assembly seats or districts, wherever necessary, without interfering in their work. They are also mandated to seek inputs and coordinate with regional heads and nodal officers of various agencies involved in monitoring activities.
