V L Kantha Rao new chief electoral officer of Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government, on the directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI), today appointed V L Kantha Rao as the chief electoral officer (CEO) of the state.

Rao, a 1992-batch IAS officer, replaced Salina Singh.

Assembly elections are due in the state by year-end.

The ECI had asked for a panel of three officers for the post, and picked Kantha Rao from the panel, a state public relations department official said.

Salina Singh had completed three years as the CEO a few months ago, the official said. However, there is no fixed term for the post, he clarified.

The government today also appointed Rajesh Kumar Kaul, an 2007-batch IAS officer, as the joint chief electoral officer. The order was issued by the General Administration Department.

Before the by-elections in the state earlier this year and also afterwards, state Congress chief Kamal Nath and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia had approached the election commission alleging irregularities in electoral rolls.

Reacting to Rao's appointment, Nath today said, "I expect the new CEO to conduct Assembly polls in an impartial manner, and to deal with our complaints seriously.