The Election Commission on Thursday transferred Sujata R Karthikeyan, an Indian Administrative Service officer and wife of Biju Janata Dal leader VK Pandian, from the post of secretary to the Mission Shakti department in Odisha, the Hindustan Times reported.

The development came after the Bharatiya Janata Party filed a complaint with the poll panel alleging that Karthikeyan was misusing her position to mobilise women in self-help groups “for electoral gains for the Biju Janata Dal”.

“It is extremely unfortunate that the serving IAS officer has given a go-bye to professionalism and is actively indulging as an agent of the BJD because of the influence of her husband on her,” the complaint by Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajeev Chandrasekhar and senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi and Om Pathak said, The Indian Express reported.

Karthikeyan should have understood the implications of her being wife of Pandian and his role in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in the state, the BJP complaint said. “She should have proceeded on leave and disassociated herself from anything to do with public dealing during the elections,” the complaint said.

The BJP had demanded that Karthikeyan should not be given any responsibility till the elections are over, accusing her of “open, blatant and gross, misuse” of authority, government machinery and manpower for influencing voters through Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation for electoral gains of the Biju Janata Dal. The Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation is the poll panel’s programme for spreading voter awareness and voter literacy.

The Odisha government formed over six lakh self-help groups comprising around 70 lakh women under Mission Shakti. The programme was initiated in 2001 by the Odisha government to provide bank loans to these self-help groups to take up several livelihood activities.

Although the Biju Janata Dal is not part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc and has often supported the BJP’s decisions in the Centre, the two parties are contesting the polls in the state alone.

Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha constituencies and 147 Assembly seats. Voting for the Lok Sabha seats in Odisha will take place in four phases on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The Assembly elections in the state will be held simultaneously.

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