Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 4: The Election Commission of India has rescheduled the Assembly by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala and has also ordered the immediate transfer of the Maharashtra Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla at the request of the political parties.
The ECI on Monday announced that the bypolls in UP, Punjab and Kerala would be held on November 20 along with the one-phase polling in Maharashtra instead of November 13 as earlier scheduled. It said the change was decided in view of the festivals during which a large number of people travel which could impact the voters’ turnout. Nine seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala.
Parties including the Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout. According to the Congress, a significant number of the electorate in the Palakkad Assembly seat in Kerala would celebrate the festival of Kalpathi Rastholsavam from November 13 to 15.
In Punjab, the party had said, the 555th Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Nanak Dev would be celebrated on November 15 and an ‘akhand path’ would be organised from November 13 onwards. BJP, BSP and RLD had said that in UP, people travel for three-four days ahead of Kartik Purnima, which would be celebrated on November 15.
In Maharashtra, at the instruction of the ECI, the DGP Rashmi Shukla, who the opposition parties alleged was close to the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state, was transferred and the Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar was given the additional charge of the DGP. The ECI on Monday wrote to the Maharashtra chief secretary Sujata Saunik for the transfer of Ms Shukla and sought a three-member list of senior-most police officers and approved Mr Phansalkar name for the temporary charge of DGP.
The Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had on Thursday written to the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting the removal of Ms Shukla from her position accusing her of displaying a “clear bias” against opposition parties in the State, including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP(SP). Mr Patole had alleged that in the past 20 days, Maharashtra has witnessed numerous incidents of political violence targeting opposition leaders, with cases reportedly escalating.
Ms Shukla, the first woman DGP of Maharashtra, had earlier courted controversy after being accused of secretly tapping the phones of leaders of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, including Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Eknath Khadse during the BJP-Shiv Sena government when she was the Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID). After the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA came to power in late 2019, three FIRs were lodged, which were subsequently quashed.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and his MVA allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress welcomed the ECI’s order removing Ms Shukla as the DGP. The EC, which took the decision after complaints from political parties, directed the Maharashtra Chief Secretary to hand over Ms Shukla’s charge to the next senior-most IPS officer in the cadre.” sources said. “The Chief Secretary has asked Mumbai police commissioner to hold the additional charge of the post,” they said.
“The Election Commission has taken the right decision. Such persons should not continue in the post,” Mr Pawar told reporters in Mumbai. “It was absolutely inappropriate to keep her in the position and grant her extensions. It’s a positive development that the EC moved to remove her. Her tenure in the state had already come to an end,” the former Union Minister said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, who was present at the media briefing, also welcomed the EC’s decision on Ms Shukla.
Briefing reporters in Nagpur, state Congress president Nana Patole said his party had approached the EC three times seeking Ms Shukla’s transfer, citing her alleged role in tapping phones of opposition politicians, and asked why it took so long for the poll body to take the decision. He requested the EC to ensure Ms Shukla was not given any election-related duties.
“Ms Shukla used to support the BJP and had tapped the phones of opposition leaders and we had filed complaints against her. We had been continuously demanding from the state government not to give important posts to such an officer,” the Congress leader said. However, Mr Patole alleged that (Deputy Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis and (CM) Shinde gave her an “illegal” two-year extension and made her DGP for their own electoral interests.
“Hence, we had complained to the Election Commission and it took cognizance of our complaint. But, the question arises why it took so long,” the Congress leader said while thanking the EC for its decision. The DGPs of West Bengal and Jharkhand were transferred immediately after the announcement of elections there, Mr Patole said.
On Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s decision to stay away from the November 20 assembly polls, Mr Pawar said nobody from the MVA has anything to do with Jarange’s decision. “We are pleased to hear that Manoj Jarange has decided to withdraw from the Maharashtra assembly elections. Had he chosen to continue his campaign, it could have inadvertently benefited the BJP in the election process. Therefore, we wholeheartedly welcome his decision,” he said.
Asked if MVA leaders were secretly helping Jarange to continue his tirade against the BJP, Mr Pawar said, “As MVA, we want to clarify that we are not involved in Jarange’s choices. However, we welcomed his decision to withdraw the candidates, as it may have benefited the BJP in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.”
During review meetings and announcement of Assembly polls, the CEC Rajiv Kumar had warned officials to be impartial and fair and ensure that they are perceived as non-partisan in conducting their duties. “There is a very serious allegation against the state’s Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla. In 2019, when our government was being formed, this Director General of Police, who was directly working for the Bharatiya Janata Party, was tapping all our phones and giving full information to Devendra Fadnavis about what we were going to do,” Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, had told the media.
“Can we expect her to conduct fair elections? We have said that the reins of elections should not be given to her, and then the Election Commission said they do not have the right (to transfer). How can this happen? At the same time, Jharkhand’s DGP was changed. Maharashtra’s election is being conducted based on police pressure,” he added.
An IPS officer of the 1988 batch, Ms Shukla is the first woman to become Maharashtra’s police chief. Earlier, she served as director general of Sashstra Seema Bal. Maharashtra’s 288 Assembly seats will vote on November 20. Counting of votes is on November 23.