New Delhi, March 19 -- The Election Commission (EC) on Monday issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh including the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police Rajiv Kumar, who is considered close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The reshuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Home Secretaries of Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as the secretaries of the general administrative departments of the Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh.

This aims towards upholding the principles of free, fair and transparent for the conduct of 2024 Lok...