A high-level election review meeting ahead of the West Bengal elections, witnessed a tense exchange between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a senior election observer, Times of India reported. The incident later led to the observer being removed from his post. The Election Commission stated that the removal was due to professional reasons.
The incident took place during a virtual meeting conducted by the full bench of the Election Commission. The meeting was held to review election preparedness and related issues. During the discussion, Anurag Yadav, who was serving as the general observer for Cooch Behar South, objected to remarks made by the CEC.
The report said the situation escalated when the CEC asked the officer to "go back home". In response, Yadav said, "you can't treat us like this. We have given 25 years to the service. You can't speak like this." The exchange led to a brief pause in the meeting before discussions continued on other matters.
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Following the incident, Anurag Yadav was removed from his role as general observer by the Election Commission. However, officials clarified that the decision was not taken because of the exchange during the meeting. According to the report, the removal was based on "professional incompetence."
During the meeting, Yadav was asked to provide basic details related to polling in his constituency, including the number of polling booths. He was unable to give accurate information, which drew criticism from the Chief Election Commissioner.
A senior Election Commission official said, "An observer is the eyes and ears of the Commission. If an officer, after spending several days on the ground, cannot verify basic details like the number of polling stations, it raises serious questions about the integrity of the process,".
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The meeting also covered issues related to election preparedness. Discussions included identifying vulnerable polling booths in Cooch Behar. West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal suggested that prohibitory orders could be considered in such areas. In addition, the state chief secretary has assigned a nodal officer for each district to ensure that minimum assured facilities are available at all polling stations.
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