New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thursday appointed IAS officer Ashish Kundra as poll-bound Mizoram’s new chief electoral officer, replacing S.B. Shashank.
“The Election Commission of India in consultation with the Government of Mizoram hereby nominates Ashish Kundra as the chief electoral officer for the state of Mizoram with immediate effect,” a notification issued by the EC said.
The EC had earlier asked the Mizoram government for a panel of names to replace Shashank.
The order came after some civil society groups in Mizoram demanded Shashank’s ouster over a row on allowing Bru voters lodged in Tripura relief camps to exercise their franchise from there. Last week, people congregated in large numbers in front of former Mizoram chief electoral officer (CEO) S.B. Shashank’s office on Tuesday, November 6, following a call by an umbrella organisation of major civil societies and student associations to picket his office demanding his removal.
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The NGO Coordination Committee had sought Shashank’s exit from the state after the Election Commission (EC) removed the state’s principal secretary (home) Lalnunmawia Chuaungo. The protesters demanded the ouster of Shashank, who, they alleged have hurt the sentiments of the Mizo people by his “pro-Bru” stance for conducting the elections.
Earlier, the CEO Shashank had told a press meet here that he was just fulfilling his responsibilities in accordance with the instructions of the EC order, which said, “… the Election Commission is satisfied that the continuance of Mr Lalnunmawia Chuaungo as principal Secretary (Home), in state government of Mizoram will have adverse impact on conduct of smooth, free and fair election process in Mizoram.” The order mentioned six incidents, mainly related to the arrangements to enable the Bru refugees staying in camps in Tripura, take part in the voting process. Thousands of people from the Bru community had fled Mizoram in the late 1990s following ethnic clashes.
The civil society organisations had earlier opposed the EC’s decision to conduct an electoral revision of the Bru voters in Tripura’s relief camps. They also urged the EC to disenfranchise all the Bru voters who chose to stay back in Tripura and did not return to Mizoram.
“As people have lost faith in him, the only solution for smooth conduct of the Assembly elections 2018 now would be removal of CEO S.B. Shashank from office forthwith,” chief minister Lal Thanhawla had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, November 5 stressing that “people have lost faith in him” and his removal is the only solution for smooth conduct of the November 28 assembly elections.
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In view of the demand for the ouster of S.B. Shashank, a three-member team of the Election Commission of India arrived in poll-bound Mizoram to assess the situation and resolve the impasse, the sources said.
Elections to the 40-member Mizoram assembly are scheduled for November 28.
(With inputs from PTI)