Govt transfers Ranchi DC before EC announces election dates

Ranchi: Hours before the Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule for assembly elections in Jharkhand on Tuesday, the state govt transferred Ranchi deputy commissioner (DC) Manjunath Bhajantri. BJP had earlier lodged a complaint against him before the EC.
The state govt had appointed Bhajantri as the DC of Ranchi on September 30.
The department of personnel, administrative reforms, and Rajbhasha issued a notification on Tuesday appointing the managing director of the Jharkhand Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, Varun Ranjan, as the new Ranchi DC.Ranjan immediately assumed charge.
Bhajantri is the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS). The CEO of the JSLPS, Mrityunjaya Kumar Barnwal, has been appointed as the commissioner of the MGNREGA.
The BJP legal cell lodged a complaint against Bhajantri before the chief electoral officer of Jharkhand, K Ravi Kumar, on Tuesday. The delegation, led by legal cell state coordinator Sudhir Srivastava, said the EC has issued an order that Bhajantri should not be appointed in poll works without its order. EC also asked the state to take disciplinary action against Bhajantri for his role in the Madhpur bypoll. His appointment as the Ranchi DC was a violation of the orders, BJP added.