Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission has directed states to ensure that officers transferred out of a district are not posted to any district within the same parliamentary constituency.
The EC’s decision follows its concern over instances where officers were transferred to adjacent districts within the same parliamentary constituency by state administrations. To prevent any potential bias in favour of a candidate or political party, the EC’s policy mandates the transfer of officers who have either served in their home district or completed three years in a particular location ahead of Lok Sabha or assembly elections.
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“…the commission has strengthened its existing transfer policy to ensure that officials are not able to disturb the level-playing field in the elections,” the EC said in a statement on Saturday.
“Plugging the loopholes” in the existing instructions, the commission has directed that, except for states and union territories that comprise up to two parliamentary constituencies, all states shall ensure that officers who are transferred out of the district are not posted within the same parliamentary constituency, the EC said.
The EC under Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has told states that the policy “must be adhered to in both letter and spirit and not just being camouflaged to show compliance”.
There has been a zero-tolerance policy of the commission against disturbing the level-playing field in the elections, it pointed out.
During the recently conducted assembly elections in five states, the Election Commission instructed the transfer of several officials, including top police officials, in accordance with its policy.
As a result of the EC’s directives, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner I S Chahal and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Commissioner Vikram Kumar are slated for transfer.