Chandigarh, February 8
The Election Commission of India has withdrawn its order of February 7 that said no presiding officer would be from the same district in which the Assembly constituency falls but would be drafted from outside the district. The import of this order was that it would have led to a massive migration of 20,000-odd presiding officers from one district to another at a time when rehearsals have been held and training imparted.

The commission’s order endorsed to the state’s deputy commissioners, who are the election officers had created a furore in Punjab. At least six of them took up the issue with the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Mrs Usha R. Sharma, demanding that the commission be prevailed upon to withdraw the same as it could not be implemented.

Consequently, the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr J. M. Lyngdoh, and the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer, Mr G. S. Cheema, had a discussion today and those orders were withdrawn and fax messages sent to the district election officers informing them of the decision.

The commission has said that the other two instructions in the February 7 order, however, shall stand — one, no two officers/officials of the same department are to be positioned in one polling station; two, in the Assembly constituencies, where from a minister is contesting, no official of his/her department under his charge is to be put on polling duty.

There are 18,228 polling booths for the February 13 elections. On the face of it, at least 20,000 presiding officers would have been reshuffled.