Two Tripura officers to be awarded by Election Commission for best electoral practices; CM Saha congratulates

New Delhi [India], January 18 : The Election Commission of India has announced the names of thirteen bureaucrats who will be honoured with awards for their contributions to their best electoral practices in elections held this year.
The Commission gives away awards every year in four categories -- general, special, best-performing government departments or institutions and best-performing state -- to encourage and congratulate officers who have performed in elections.
The awards will be presented on January 25 in New Delhi.
The awardees belong to Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura and Mizoram, where state elections were held in 2023.
Two officers-- Saju Vaheed (IAS), currently holding the post of DM (south) and posted in Belonia and Ramesh Chand Yadav (IPS), holding the post of SP (Dhalai), both belonging to the all India cadre have been selected for the prestigious award.
Saju Vaheed has been awarded for ensuring 'accessible elections', and Ramesh Chand Yadav has been selected for the award for security management.
The award has been announced in four categories which are 'General Award', 'Special Award', 'Award for Government Department/ Agency/PSU and 'Best Performing State Award'.
Manik Saha, the chief minister of Tripura congratulated both officers and said, "Heartiest congratulations to Shri Saju Vaheed A. (IAS), DM & Collector, South Tripura & Dr. Ramesh Chand Yadav (IPS), SP-Dhalai have been given the Best Electoral Practice Award 2023 under the Accessible Elections & Security Management category respectively."
The poll body has chosen two women bureaucrats from Karnataka for their contributions to best electoral practices.
C Shikha, commissioner of Commercial Taxes, who previously earned laurels for high GST collections, has been selected under the Best Electoral Practice Awards 2023 under the award for government Department Agency PSU category. Divya Prabhu, deputy commissioner and District Chief Electoral Officer, of Chitradurga district, has been picked under the General Award category for the National Level Awards for 2023.
Shikha has been chosen for her role in conducting elections strictly, conducting campaigns through the Commercial Taxes Department to create awareness among the public not to accept free gifts and adherence to the model code of conduct in the commercial sector during the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023.
Divya has been recognised for her outstanding performance at the national level through her work during elections, including registering young voters, managing electoral rolls, increasing special voter registrations, etc.