Administrative Blunder in Maheshwar Panchayat Election: Notification Issued for Wrong Ward; Two Officials Suspended

Khargone, Madhya Pradesh: A serious administrative lapse has emerged in the Maheshwar Janpad Panchayat election process. Instead of issuing the election notification for Ward No. 7, the notification was mistakenly released for Ward No. 9. Following the error, two officials have been suspended, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has been issued a show-cause notice. A corrected election notification for the vacant ward will be issued shortly.

Vacancy Following Member’s Demise
According to Akash Singh, CEO of Zila Panchayat Khargone, the seat in Ward No. 7 became vacant after the demise of member Mohan Makwale. As per regulations, a by-election was scheduled to fill this vacant seat.

The Blunder
Due to negligence on the part of the staff and officials of Maheshwar Janpad Panchayat, information meant for Ward No. 7 was incorrectly sent to the District Election Office as pertaining to Ward No. 9. Based on this erroneous information, the State Election Commission issued the election notification for Ward No. 9 according to its schedule.

Suspensions and Notices
The CEO informed that Assistant Grade-3 official Ajay Verma was immediately suspended for sending the wrong information. Additionally, the Panchayat Coordinator and In-Charge Block Panchayat Officer, Ramlal Barsena, were suspended for signing off on the incorrect information without proper verification, which was deemed unacceptable.

Show-Cause Notice to CEO
Furthermore, Chief Executive Officer Reena Chauhan of Maheshwar Janpad Panchayat has been issued a show-cause notice, and further action will be taken against her. All candidates have been informed of the situation, and the revised election notification for the correct ward will be issued soon.

This incident highlights the critical need for strict adherence to administrative protocols to ensure the smooth conduct of elections and prevent confusion among voters and officials alike.