Bilaspur: The state election commission has cancelled the election for the post of pradhan in Tali panchayat under the Shri Naina Devi sub-division of Bilaspur district following serious complaints regarding the eligibility of contesting candidates.
The issue unfolded after the district election officer-cum-deputy commissioner of Bilaspur, Rahul Kumar, was notified that an anganwadi worker and a mid-day meal worker were contesting the local body poll. Both roles are generally restricted from contesting while holding positions of profit under state-backed welfare schemes.
According to the commission, the conflict arose due to an initial oversight during the mandatory scrutiny of nomination papers. No objections regarding the eligibility of these two candidates were raised before the assistant returning officer (ARO) at that stage. Consequently, the ARO cleared their files and officially allotted election symbols to them.
However, once the lapse was identified, complaints were submitted to higher officials, leading to the halting of poll.
