Does Election dept need a ‘reset’ to bring things in order?

Jaipur: It seems that ‘all is not well’ in the Election Department. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta and Additional Chief Electoral Officer Krishna Kunal have been posted in the department, together, for more than three years and it is a record innings for both officials. But it is worrisome that coordination, cooperation, and confidence between the two has gone for a toss and the ‘tussle’ has reached such an extent that it has been months since the duo held a meeting in one room. Due to this, the work is suffering as well.

Merely four months are left for assembly elections and the situation existing between the two officials is worrisome. It has become imperative that along with the state government, the Election Commission of India should also interfere in the matter. Word is that the long innings of both the officials is the root of all problems.

1995 batch IAS Praveen Gupta has been serving on the post since July 2020 and prior to him, Anand Kumar, Ashwani Bhagat, Govind Sharma and Ashok Jain have only served for two years. Actually, Praveen Gupta had to go on deputation to Centre as Joint Secretary in the year 2021 and the state government also gave its NOC. However, years have passed waiting for the call from Centre, which has not come till today. Due to this, no thought was given to the appointment of a new CEO.

On the other hand, the story with Krishna Kunal is also similar. This 2003 batch IAS was appointed as Additional Chief Electoral Officer in November 2019 and after eight months, Praveen Gupta became CEO in place of Anand. It was believed that Praveen Gupta would head to Centre soon and then Kunal would become CEO, but this did not come to pass and Kunal became the first Additional CEO of the department. Prior to this, Jogaram, Rekha Gupta, and Rajesh Yadav have served for a lesser time than Krishna Kunal.

There was a time when discussions were held regarding Krishna Kunal’s transfer but it did not come to pass, although Kunal was handed the additional charge, going out of the way, of the Animal Husbandry and Minorities Department. Word is that a panel of three officers has been forwarded to the Election Commission, but there has been a delay in approval of the panel.

Moreover, now there is no chance of change for Praveen Gupta and if the model code of conduct comes into force before the approval is given, then the door would be closed for Krishna Kunal too.

Praveen could not go to Delhi and Kunal could not be elevated and thus the hopes of the duo was not met; as a result, working in the department in a halfhearted manner, the duo could not strike a chord.