EC asks Kerala govt to forward names for Kannur Collector post

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New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The Election Commission today said it has asked the Kerala government to forward a panel of names for the post of District Collector of Kannur, where bye-election is slated to be held on November seven.

The move comes after the Commission asked the state government to replace Kannur District Collector V K Balakrishnan following complaints of irregularities in the voters&aposlist.

"Yes, we are changing (the Collector). We have asked for a panel of three names,"Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla told reporters here.

On the Election Commission&aposs call, sources said, the Kerala government has forwarded a list of three Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers to the commission for appointment of the new collector at Kannur.

Alleged irregularities relating to enrolment of new voters had sparked a political controversy in the state with the LDF and the Congress-led UDF engaging in a slanging match ever since the bypoll for the politically-sensitive constituency was announced this month.

In Kannur, Chawla said, 4,843 people had applied for inclusion in the voters&aposlist but during field inspection, it was found that 2,116 names could not be matched and they were not included.

"The field verifications were done by teams drawn from different taluks,"he said.

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