The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directives for the transfer of 8 District Magistrates (DM) and 12 Superintendents of Police (SP) in five states ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As per the notification from the poll agency, these officials are being relocated from Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh as part of routine assessment procedures.
The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar alongside Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, as stated in the EC notification. All officials affected by the transfers are instructed to hand over their duties to their immediate successors.
Furthermore, the EC clarified that the transferred officers will not be assigned any election-related responsibilities until the conclusion of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The notification also mandates respective state governments to submit panels of names of IAS and IPS officers to the Election Commission for consideration. Selected officers will replace those transferred.
Previously, on March 21, the EC had issued transfer orders for non-cadre officers serving as District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police in Gujarat, Punjab, Odisha, and West Bengal. Additionally, on March 18, the EC ordered the removal of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and several additional commissioners and deputy commissioners of the Mumbai civic body.
The EC’s actions also included the removal of top officials in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, including Bengal police chief Rajeev Kumar. Furthermore, orders were issued for the replacement of Home Secretaries in Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Additionally, the Secretary of the General Administrative Department in Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh were also replaced.
The Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be conducted in seven phases starting from April 19 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
