Special Observers appointed for Odisha and several other states by ECI for General Elections 2024

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has declared a list of Special Observers appointed for the General Elections 2024 0n Tuesday.

According to reports, Special Observers have been appointed to provide critical feedback and vigilant oversight for a level playing field during the upcoming elections.

Recognizing the challenges posed by the influence of money, muscle, and misinformation, the Election Commission of India has appointed Special Observers for the General Elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies 2024 to oversee the electoral process with strict vigilance.

Special Observers appointed are former civil servants with a brilliant track record of domain expertise and past experience with election processes.

Special Observers (General and Police) have been deployed in states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar where the population is more than 7 crores along with States of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha where the simultaneous elections to the Assemblies are to be held.

The General and Police Special Observer deployed in six states are:

1. General Special Observer Manjit Singh, IAS (Retd) (RJ:88) and Police Special Observer Vivek Dube, IPS (Retd.) (AP:81) in Bihar.
2. General Special Observer Dharmendra S. Gangwar, IAS (Retd.) (BH:1988) and Police Special Observer N K Mishra, IPS (Retd.) (SK:88) in Maharashtra.
3. General Special Observer Ajay V Nayak, IAS, (Retd.) (BH:84) and Police Special Observer Manmohan Singh, IPS (Retd.) (BH:88) in Uttar Pradesh.
4. General Special Observer Ram Mohan Mishra, IAS (Retd.)(AM:87) and Police Special Observer Deepak Mishra, IPS (Retd) (AGMUT:84) in Andhra Pradesh.
5. General Special Observer Yogendra Tripathi, IAS (Retd.) (KN:1985) and Police Special Observer Rajnikant Mishra, IPS (Retd.) (UP:84) in Odisha.
6. General Special Observer Sh. Alok Sinha, IAS (Retd.) (UP:1986) and Police Special Observer Sh. Anil Kumar Sharma, IPS (Retd.) (PB:84) in West Bengal.

The Special Expenditure Observers appointed in the five states are:

1. Rajesh Tuteja, Ex IRS (IT) (1987) in Uttar Pradesh;
2. Himalini Kashyap, Ex IRS (IT) (1985) in Odisha;
3. B. Murali Kumar, IRS (Retd.) (IRS:1983) in Karnataka;
4. Neena Nigam, IRS (Retd.) (IRS:83) in Andhra Pradesh;
5. B. R. Balakrishnan, Ex IRS (IT) (1983) in Tamil Nadu.

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