58% officers fare poorly in first phase of poll preparedness test in MP

In the first phase of the poll preparedness tests, 58 per cent Madhya Pradesh officers "have not done well", a senior official has said.

Around 1,000 officers are supposed to appear for the exams which are being conducted by the Election Commission (EC), the official added.

The EC will write to departments concerned against officials who are found deliberately underperforming in the tests to avoid election duties, he said.

The examinations are being conducted in phases ahead of the elections in MP which will be held by the year-end.

"Under the first phase, 561 officers appeared for the exam on August 18 and out of them 238 (42 per cent) cleared the test while the rest have not done well," Madhya Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters Monday evening.

"The officers who have not done well will be given another chance to appear for the examination in the second phase," he said.

Speaking on Congress's complaint that names of many voters appeared multiple times in the electoral rolls in 150 assembly seats out of the 230 in total, Rao said corrective measures were taken after the voters' lists were examined.

The second revision of the electoral rolls which have photographs of voters was completed last Friday. The final voters' list will be published on September 27, he said.

The commission has also organised a workshop on Saturday to provide information to political parties about poll preparedness and latest updates on electoral laws, the official said.

Invitations have been sent to 75 parties for the workshop, he said, adding that two senior officials of the EC will be present on the occasion.