Lucknow, Feb 9 (PTI) The Gonda district magistrate was removed on the directions of the Election Commission, days after the Samajwadi Party accused him of helping a BJP candidate.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) in a complaint to the poll panel had alleged that DM Markandey Shahi has been working on the directions of BJP's Kaiserganj MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and the Gonda Sadar MLA.

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IT Department Special Secretary Dr Ujjawal Kumar will be the new DM of Gonda in place of Markandey Shahi, an Election Commission spokesman said here.

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In his complaint to the poll panel, SP state president Naresh Uttam Patel had alleged, “The DM is a relative of the MP and attends all his family programmes. This is affecting elections and the model code of conduct is being openly flouted.”

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)