In preparation for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections and by-elections in eight assembly seats across seven states, including Nuapada in Odisha, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed 470 officers as central observers to ensure free, fair, and transparent polling.
Among them, 12 officers from Odisha—10 IAS and 2 IPS—have been selected for this crucial role. Although the election dates are yet to be announced, the ECI has already initiated preparations and informed the officers on September 27.
The by-election in Nuapada is necessitated by the demise of BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia.
The appointed Odisha officers include:
- Rajesh Prabhakar Patil (2005 IAS batch), Secretary of the State Cooperative Department
- Arvind Agrawal (2007 IAS batch), Secretary of Higher Education
- Balwant Singh (2007 IAS batch), Secretary of Tourism
- Bhupendra Singh Poonia (2008 IAS batch), Secretary of Skill Development and Technical Education
- B. Parameswaran, Secretary of Scheduled Castes and Tribes Department
- D. Prasanth Kumar Reddy (2009 IAS batch), Secretary of MSME Department
- Prem Chandra Chaudhary (2010 IAS batch), Director of Textiles and Handlooms
- Indramani Tripathy (2011 IAS batch), Labour Commissioner
- Siddharth Das (2012 IAS batch), Joint Secretary of Finance Department
- Subhashree Nanda (2013 IAS batch), Additional Secretary of Mass Education Department
Additionally, two IPS officers have been named:
- Prateek Mohanty (2000 batch), Additional DGP (Headquarters)
- Shyni S. (2001 batch), IG (CID-CB)
On September 26, the ECI notified these Odisha cadre officers, following which the state’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Anamika Singh, issued a letter yesterday directing them to attend a mandatory briefing session on October 3 at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi by 9 AM. The ECI has warned that absence from this meeting will invite strict disciplinary action.
These central observers will remain under the ECI’s control and discipline until the election process concludes. They are required to submit their written consent to the commission within 24 hours of receiving the letter.
Nationwide, the 470 observers comprise 320 IAS officers, 60 IPS officers, and 90 from other All India Services. This move underscores the ECI’s commitment to upholding electoral integrity amid the high-stakes polls in Bihar and the by-elections.
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