In preparation for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections and by-elections in eight assembly seats across seven states, including Nuapada in Odisha, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed 470 officers as central observers to ensure free, fair, and transparent polling.

Among them, 12 officers from Odisha—10 IAS and 2 IPS—have been selected for this crucial role. Although the election dates are yet to be announced, the ECI has already initiated preparations and informed the officers on September 27.

The by-election in Nuapada is necessitated by the demise of BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia.

The appointed Odisha officers include:

Rajesh Prabhakar Patil (2005 IAS batch), Secretary of the State Cooperative Department

Arvind Agrawal (2007 IAS batch), Secretary of Higher Education

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