Odisha chief electoral officer Surendra Kumar has suspended 14 government officers for dereliction of duty in the second phase of polling on April 18 and recommended fresh polling at a booth in Sorada assembly segment in Ganjam district.
Surendra Kumar said the 14 officers were deployed in five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly constituencies and were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty during the simultaneous polls.
The repoll was recommended after a BJP candidate contesting the Sorada seat had allegedly smashed an EVM machine during voting in the second phase of polling on April 18 alleging rigging by BJD workers, he said.
He was later arrested.
Surendra Kumar said the 14 suspended officers included seven presiding officers and an equal number of sector officers who were deployed in Padampur, Bargarh Atabira, Sundergarh, Bonai and Daspalla assembly constituencies.
The CEO had recommended repolling in six booths where polling was held in the first phase on April 11. The voting in these booths was affected due to human error in connecting the VVPAT machine.