ERODE: The returning officer (RO) for Erode East bypoll Manish Narnaware has been transferred following the controversy over the acceptance of nomination of an independent candidate from Karnataka and the delay in rejecting it. HS Srikanth, who was working as commissioner of Hosur city corporation, has been appointed as the new RO.
After the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday evening, the RO released the final list of 47 candidates. This included candidature of V Padmavathi, (48), an independent from Bengaluru. As soon as the symbol allotment process began, other candidates objected to her nomination due to which the process was suspended.
Returning officer Manish consulted with senior officials regarding this and rejected Padmavathi’s nomination in the wee hours on Tuesday. The final list of 46 candidates was released and symbols were allotted later in the day.
On Tuesday night, the EC issued an order transferring Manish Narnaware and appointed Srikanth as the RO. He took charge on Wednesday. Sources said the EC is likely to take action against other officers involved in the issue.
TNIE tried to contact District Election Officer Raja Gopal Sunkara for a comment, but he did not respond to phone calls.