Mumbai, Mar 11 (UNI) The State Election Commission (SEC) has suspended two election officers for negligence in discharging their duties in the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections at Tasgaon tehsil of this district.

Sangli district election branch sources said a message about suspension of Tasgaon tehsil returning officer Trigun Kulkarani and his assistant Prashant Patil was received here here this evening.

The zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Tasgaon were marred in controversy when a Sena candidate lodged a complaint alleging that the NCP was resorting to pressure tactics in order to get its candidates elected unanimously. The candidate had later retracted the statement.

Only NCP candidates remained in the fray in the Tasgaon elections -- nine for panchayat samiti and three for zilla parishad.

Meanwhile, SEC sources said that repolling for the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections will be held at 18 places in the state tomorrow owing to malfunctioning or damage to the electronic voting machines today. Some EVMs were damaged by miscreants in Solapur and five persons have been arrested in this connection, SEC sources said.

UNI