Election returning officers lose their cool

Polling Returning Officers (PROs) and Assistant Polling Returning Officers (APROs) had a heated exchange with B R Natesh, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) assistant commissioner (Election), on Thursday over delay in relieving them of their duties.

The incident took place in the Mount Carmel College demastering centre in the Shivajinagar Assembly constituency.

Natesh allegedly did not allow PROs and APROs to leave the place even after the ballot machines were handed to him at the centre.

“The assistant commissioner threatened the PROs and APROs with disciplinary action in case they left the place before all the ballot machines are received and verified. The PROs and APROs, who were exhausted, lost their cool and shouted slogans against him,” said a source.

Natesh said the PROs and APROs requested him to relieve them of their duties, but he couldn’t “bypass procedure”.

“There are about 193 ballot machines from all the polling stations and the process of verifying machines is going on. There is no such protest from the PROs and APROs. There was request to relieve them early, but I can’t bypass the procedure. We have to ensure that all machines are properly handled so that there would be no technical issues in future,” he said.