Wife is IG of police where husband is fighting election!

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party (SP) has asked the Chief Election commissioner to immediately transfer Laskhmi Singh, the IG of Police, Lucknow range, as her husband Rajeshwar Singh, ex-joint director of the Enforcement Directorate, has been nominated as the BJP candidate from the same area for the Sarojini Nagar seat. It appears rather odd that the Election Commission has not paid any heed to the request so far.

Rajeshwar Singh who took voluntary retirement from his service at the ED, filed his nomination the very next day. His application for the VRS was accepted the day after the Election Commission announced the dates of the Elections for the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Earlier, it was being guessed he would be fielded from some Assembly segment around Ghaziabad. His nomination was mainly an outcome of the denial of ticket to sitting BJP MLA Swati Singh who developed differences with UP CM Yogi Adityanath. Curiously, Swati Singh’s husband Daya Shankar Singh is the vice president of the BJP in UP. He does not see eye to eye with the Chief Minister.

According to the EC’s Model Code of Conduct, anyone related to the electoral candidate cannot be posted on an administrative position in the same zone or seat. Going by this, Lakshmi Singh’s presence on the post should be untenable.