New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The Election Commission Monday said that polling in four assembly constituencies in Dumka district of Jharkhand, scheduled to be held in the first phase Nov 27, will now be held on the third phase Dec 8 after it was found that poll officers “inadvertently” supplied the wrong version of the Hindi nomination papers.
The four constituencies are - Sikaripara, Dumka, Jama - all Scheduled Tribes reseerved seats - and Jarmundi, in Dumka district.

“Today, the Election Commission received inputs that the Returning Officers of these four assembly constituencies have inadvertently supplied wrong version, in Hindi, of the prescribed form of nomination papers.”

However, the English version of the nomination forms were in order, the poll panel said in a statement.

The candidates for the four seats had, therefore, “submitted their incomplete nomination papers in the wrong Hindi version of the prescribed Form 2 B”. The “inadvertent error” came to light at the time of scrutiny of nomination papers Monday.

Since the incomplete nomination papers were “liable to rejection” under the laws, the poll panel recommended to the Jharkhand governor that the elections in the four constituencies be “rescinded”.

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The polling in these constituencies will be held in the third phase. And accordingly, the new dates are: Date of issue of notification - Nov 13, last date of filing nominations - Nov 20, Date of scrutiny - Nov 21, Last date of withdrawal - Nov 23.

The poll panel has also initiated action against the “concerned Returning Officers and District Election Officer-cum Deputy Commissioner, Dumka”, the statement said.

In the first phase Nov 27, polling was to be held in 30 of the 81 assembly constituencies. The remaining 26 seats will have polling as scheduled. In the third phase, Dec 8, the four Dumka constituencies will join the seven going to polls.