KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday removed the district magistrate (DM) cum district election officer (DEO) officer of East Midnapore district, Unice Rishin Ismail, on serious charges of violating ECI instructions in connection with the upcoming assembly elections in the State.
Commission has decided to appoint Niranjan Kumar (IAS 2007) as the new DM cum DEO of East Midnapore district. The national poll body’s secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra has directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala saying, “….the Commission has received a report from the Electoral Officer, West Bengal, stating that complaints were received regarding the inclusions of contractual employees in the database prepared for deployment on poll duties in Purba Medinipur district, in violation of the Commission’s instructions.”
The Commission has asked Nariala to send a compliance report to Nirvachan Sadan by 11 am on March 26.
The ECI has flagged serious concerns over the alleged inclusion of contractual employees in poll duty deployment, calling it a violation of established election protocols.
According to the Commission, complaints were received regarding the drafting of contractual workers for election duties.
The Commission reiterated that, under Section 26 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the responsibility of appointing Presiding and Polling Officers lies solely with the DEO concerned.
Citing its guidelines, the Commission has already pointed out that contractual and Anganwadi workers are explicitly barred from being deployed in elections.
It also referred to its 2023 instructions, which mandate that only state and central government employees, including those from PSUs and banks, should be included in the polling personnel database.
Describing the inclusion of contractual employees as a 'serious lapse,' the Commission warned that it could adversely affect the conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections.
All DEOs have also been sensitised in this regard and directed to prepare separate lists of eligible personnel and submit a written certification confirming that no contractual employees are included in the polling database.