A district election officer in West Bengal asked 49 doctors of a state government hospital to join election duty, but protests by medical authorities prompted the roll back of the order.
According to Election Commission guidelines, government hospital doctors are usually not assigned poll duty in assembly or parliamentary elections.
The list included assistant professors and specialist doctors from key departments, and the hospital's administrative staff continue to remain on election duty, leaving the institution stretched on polling day.
There is no precedent of government doctors being assigned presiding officer roles in parliamentary or assembly polls, a senior ECI official said.
The move departs from long-standing election practices, and raises serious concerns, according to former chief election commissioner OP Rawat.
