Continuing the spree of transfers, the State government on Thursday transferred about 30 officers of the rank of deputy collectors and posted them as Revenue Divisional Officers of different districts.
The transfer of the RDOs and deputy municipal commissioners in urban local bodies, designated as Election Registration Officers (EROs), comes ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India on September 1. The EROs will function under the guidelines of the Election Commission once the draft rolls are published till the publication of the final rolls, tentatively on January 4 next year.
Sources said large-scale transfers of officials connected with the election duties could be seen as a step towards advancing elections in the State. “Transfer of these officials will require the consent of the Election Commission after September 1 and the correspondence with the EC could be a time consuming process,” a senior official said adding the government might therefore have effected the transfers before September 1.
Meanwhile, experts said there is little scope for the Election Commission to delay the elections if the State is willing to go for advancing the polls. There is no instance where the EC had delayed the election after the ruling party of the State dissolved the existing Assembly, except in the event of a natural calamity.
Preparation of voters’ lists and other formalities could not be a cause for postponement of the elections beyond the stipulated six months.
The EC should hold the election on the first available opportunity. The only option where the EC will get time to hold election afresh is when the ruling party loses vote of confidence, an expert said on the condition of anonymity. The delay in the conduct of polls to the Lok Sabha seats vacated by the YSR Congress Party MPs was in no way connected with the conduct of elections to the Assembly which is dissolved.
“There is no similarity at all. Resignation of a group of members necessitating conduct of by-elections and dissolution of the entire Assembly are two different aspects all together,” he said, adding that the constitutional provision allows some gap, but not beyond the stipulated six-month period before the end of which the new Assembly had to be constituted.
