ECI in a fix of deployment of terminated govt employees for poll duty in West Bengal

Kolkata Election Commission faces challenge as Calcutta High Court terminates thousands of staff for poll duties.

Election Commission of India (ECI) is in a fix over the deployment of about thousands of teaching and non teaching staff in poll related duties whose services have recently been terminated by the Calcutta High Court.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal say that about 40 % of the 25,000 teaching and non teaching staff whose services have been terminated were requisitioned for poll duty. The challenge before the Commission is to replace about 10,000 such employees from active poll duty. The Commission has asked District Magistrate to prepare a list

The Calcutta High Court on Monday, April 22, 2024 directed the termination of appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools who were appointed through State Level Selection Test(SLST) 2016.

The State government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order against termination of these employees. The second phase of polls to three key constituencies Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat will be held on April 26 and polling personnel have already started arriving in several booths. 98 % of polling booths going in the second phase have been marked vulnerable by the commission.

The High Court has directed that the employees whose salaries have been terminated return their entire salary with 12 % interests. The Opposition parties in West Bengal have raised questions over assigning poll related duties to employees whose jobs have been terminated.

The West Bengal government on April 24 challenged the order of the division bench of Calcutta High Court before the Supreme Court. The State government is likely to raise the issue of deployment of terminated employees deployed in the Lok Sabha elections before the Supreme Court to seek a stay on the Calcutta High Court order. Sources in the government say that it is difficult to replace thousands of such employees from election related activities at the last moment. Elections to 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal are being held across seven phases.