Mumbai, May 29 (PTI) Abhimanyu Kale, the district collector of Gondiya in Maharashtra, was shunted out today, a day after the Lok Sabha bye-election there was marred by large scale complaints of malfunctioning of the EVMs.

Kale was the returning officer for Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituency where complaints of malfunctioning of the EVMs were received from more than 40 polling stations.

His transfer coincided with the Election Commission's announcement of re-polling tomorrow at 49 polling booths in five of the six assembly segments of the constituency in view of EVM-related complaints.

Kale, who has not been given any new assignment yet, will be replaced by Kadambari Bhagat-Balkawade, the CEO of Nagpur zilla parishad, an official said.

Bhagat-Balkawade will function as the returning officer for the re-polling tomorrow.

The decision comes against the backdrop of a large number of voters and political parties complaining about malfunctioning of EVMs during the polling yesterday.

Kale had initially denied any problems with the EVMs but had to change his stand as voting was suspended at some 40 polling booths by the election commission.

The bypoll in the constituency was necessitated because Nana Patole of the BJP had resigned while attacking the Narendra Modi government over the farmers' issue.

Patole, a leader of the powerful OBC Kunbi community, had earlier switched sides from the Congress to the BJP and was elected as an MP from the constituency, located in Vidarbha region, in 2014 by defeating NCP leader Praful Patel.

In this bypoll, the BJP and the NCP are the main rivals.

The NCP, which allied with the Congress for the bypoll, has fielded former BJP MLA Madhukar Kukde against BJP's Hemant Patle, who belongs to the Powar community and is also a former legislator.

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