EC removes Tripura West seat’s returning officer

Agartala, May 2 (IANS) The Election Commission on Thursday removed the returning officer of the Tripura West seat, where polling was held on the first phase on the Lok Sabha elections on April 11, an official said.

"The Election Commission removed the returning officer of the Tripura West seat Sandeep Mahatme. Tripura East's returning officer, Vikas Singh, has been appointed in his place," an Election Commission official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.

Alleging large-scale rigging, booth capturing, intimidation and attacks on voters and polling agents by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and their goons, the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress had been demanding re-polling in the constituency.

They had also been demanding Mahatme's removal.

The EC order issued by Secretary Arvind Anand, and available with IANS, relieved Mahatme, the District Magistrate of West Tripura, from election-related duties. It also asked Vikas Singh, the District Magistrate of Dhalai, to join his new posting by Thursday.

According to the official, Tripura's Chief Electoral Officer Sriram Taranikanti has been asked to send a panel of names by Thursday to be appointed the new District Magistrate of Dhalai.

While polling was held in Tripura West on April 11, voting in the Tripura East seat, slated for the second phase of April 18, was deferred to the third (April 23) by the poll panel, citing the "non-conducive security situation".