Mizoram Assembly Elections: Ashish Kundra replaces SB Shashank as Chief Electoral Officer ahead of polls

The Election Commission has appointed Ashish Kundra as the new Chief Electoral Officer of Mizoram ahead of the Assembly Elections to be held on November 28.

He was appointed after the poll panel asked the state government to forward names after it decided to find an alternative to CEO SB Shashank who had courted controversy in the poll-bound state.

Kundra, a 1996 batch IAS officer, was posted as the Commissioner (General Administration Department), Higher and Technical Education in Mizoram. 

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Shashank had reportedly sought deployment of additional central armed police forces (CAPFs) in the poll-bound state and complained to the Election Commission that the state's former principal secretary, Lalnunmawia Chuaungo, was interfering in the poll process. Chuaungo, a native of Mizoram and a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer, was relieved of his duties earlier this month.

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Thousands of people took to the streets and picketed in front of Shashank's office for two days since Tuesday. Shashank left Mizoram on Wednesday after being summoned by the chief election commissioner in Delhi, which resulted in the withdrawal of the agitation.