Fearing violence, officials come up with excuses to avoid poll duty

With rising cases of violence in the run-up to the panchayat poll, government officials, especially women, are trying their best to avoid election duty. From making rounds of politicians to queuing up outside offices of their respective District Electoral Officers (DEOs), the officials are looking for an escape route.

“Need to take care of ailing/elderly parents, anxiety issues and leave for pregnant wife” are some of the excuses stated to the DEOs by hundreds of government officials.

As a result, majority of the DEOs have “almost decided to sanction leave only in case of death of a close relative or something urgent”.

“I have received 80 applications and there are 50 messages on my phone. Everyone wants exemption from poll duty,” said an IAS officer.

To ensure that applications aren’t turned down, officials were using their “connections” in judiciary, media, police and political circles.

While women officials want to stay away, apprehending violence, others fear repercussions for any lapse on the voting day. “In previous elections, the EC had served a notice on my friend after he gave a clean chit to a liquor distributor. He is still fighting to save his skin,” said a schoolteacher who’s tasked with the poll duty. “Many firing incidents have taken place and more violence is expected on the polling day. Why should we risk our lives?” said a Punjabi University employee.

A majority of the DEOs said they had exempted a few officials with genuine problems. “We have warned officials approaching us on flimsy grounds. Those not turning up for poll duty will face stern action,” they said.