New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reshuffled several officials in Bihar, Odisha, and three other states before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This is a regular process for the ECI to make sure the elections run smoothly.
In a meeting led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the commission decided to move two inspectors general of police, eight district magistrates, and 12 superintendents of police in five states.
In Odisha, there were changes in the positions of the district magistrates (DMs) of Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur, superintendents of police (SPs) of Angul, Behrampur, Khurda, Rourkela, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Cuttack, as well as the Inspector General (IG) Central.
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, transfers affected the DMs of Krishna, Ananthpuramu, and Tirupati districts, SPs of Prakasam, Palnadu, Chittoor, Anathpuramu, Nellore districts, and the Inspector General (IG) of Guntur Range.
Additionally, apart from the transfer of the SP of Deoghar, the ECI instructed the filling of vacancies for SP (Rural) Ranchi, DIG Palamu, and IG Dumka, requesting a list of potential candidates from Jharkhand. The DM of Udalguri in Assam, as well as the DM and SP of Bhojpur and Nawada districts in Bihar were also transferred.
State governments must provide a list of potential replacements from the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service. Officials from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand are among those affected by the transfers. Additionally, the ECI has asked the Jharkhand chief secretary to quickly fill vacant positions, including SP (Rural) Ranchi, deputy inspector general of police (Palamu), and IGP (Dumka), by presenting suitable candidates.
Scheduled between April 19 and June 1, with vote counting set for June 4, the Lok Sabha elections prompted the ECI to reshuffle personnel, directing the transferred officials to hand over their responsibilities to their respective juniors. Notably, these officials will not be assigned any election-related duties until the conclusion of the polls.
