MK Das appointed Special Police Observer for Madhya Pradesh bypolls

MK Das, a retired IPS officer, was on Friday appointed as Special Police Observer for the upcoming by-elections to the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh. Voting on 28 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh by-elections will take place on November 3 and the results will be declared on November 10.

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday appointed retired IPS officer Mrinal Kanti Das as Special Police Observer for the upcoming by-elections to the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh.

"As Special Police Observer, MK Das is assigned to observe the conduct of bye-elections and poll preparedness, especially with regard to security-related issues," the statement said.

The statement went on to say that Das, who retired as the Director-General of Police of the Manipur Police, had an impeccable track record and was also deputed as the Special Police Observer for General Election to the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi in 2020.

Earlier, he was deputed in the same capacity for Tripura and Mizoram during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, and also the Jharkhand Assembly elections of 2019.

Voting on 28 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh by-elections will take place on November 3 and the results will be declared on November 10.

By-elections are due on 28 seats following the resignation of 25 MLAs and the death of three legislators earlier.

In the 230-member assembly, the BJP has currently 107 MLAs and Congress 88. There are 4 independent MLAs, 2 from BSP and alone Samajwadi Party MLA.

The last date for filing the nomination papers was October 16. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on October 17, while nomination papers can be withdrawn by October 19, according to the by-election schedule.