Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has directed the immediate removal of an Election Commission of India-appointed polls observer for the upcoming two-phase Assembly election in West Bengal. The observer, Anurag Yadav, lacked practical knowledge about the polling booth network in the assigned area, leading to his relief from duty. This decision came after a meeting where it was revealed that Yadav, the general observer for Cooch Behar (Dakshin) Assembly constituency, was unaware of basic details like the number of booths in the constituency.
Insiders familiar with the situation disclosed that CEC Kumar expressed dissatisfaction over Yadav’s lack of preparedness and sense of responsibility. Despite being in the role of general observer for a significant period, Yadav had not done the necessary groundwork for efficient duty execution. Consequently, the CEC questioned Yadav’s effectiveness in the position and promptly ordered his removal from the observer duty.
The Election Commission had appointed one general observer for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal for this election cycle. West Bengal stands out as the sole state with such a deployment strategy, aiming for enhanced monitoring and oversight. Additionally, the state has the highest number of police observers at 84, surpassing other poll-bound states like Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry. In terms of expenditure observers, Tamil Nadu leads with 151 observers, closely followed by West Bengal with 100 observers.
