Bengaluru: As per directions from the Election Commission, the state government has transferred Mandya Deputy Commissioner, Manjushree with immediate effect.
Mr P.C. Jaffer, commissioner, Department of Public Instruction, Bengaluru has been appointed as the new deputy commissioner of Mandya. Ms Manjushree had been embroiled into controversy after Ms Sumalatha Ambareesh, Mandya independent candidate alleged that the district returning officer had violated poll rules by receiving the corrected affidavits of Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaras wamy and the JD(S) candidate in Mandya, after the completion of filing of nomination papers.
On the basis of the complaint, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjivkumar had visited Mandya and had ordered an inquiry into this episode. However, the election observers had contended that there were no lapses on the part of the district returning officer, and had given a clean chit to Mr Nikhil. Besides, Mr Suma latha and BSP Candidate Nanjundaswamy had filed complaints separately with the EC alleging favoritism by the DC in allotting serial number one to Mr Nikhil in the ballot paper though he belonged to a regional party. The BSP candidate had argued that in the absence of BJP and Congress candidates, he should have been given serial number one. However, Ms Manjushree justified her decision saying that Nikhil had been given serial number one as per the Kannada alphabet order.
Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
