Outgoing state poll panel chief wants judicial powers for body

Outgoing State Election Commissioner (SEC) Neela Satyanarayan said Friday there was  a need to give judicial powers to the commission, as is the case in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

“Today, there are instances of false affidavits being filed by candidates. However, the SEC cannot take any action as its role is limited to holding free and fair polls,” the SEC said.  Satyanarayan’ tenure gets over on Saturday.

Satyanarayan said she had urged CM Prithviraj Chavan to create a separate machinery for conducting polls, instead of putting a burden on teachers and government officials. The SEC conducts local elections in the state.

She said she had also asked Chavan to fix a schedule in advance for gram panchayat, zilla parishad polls.