A district election officer (DEO) in West Bengal asked 49 doctors of a state government hospital to join election duty by end of March, before protests by medical authorities prompted the roll back of the order, people familiar with the matter said. Representational image. (Unsplash/Representational Image) According to Election Commission guidelines, government hospital doctors are usually not assigned poll duty in assembly or parliamentary elections because medical staff, including doctors, nurses and ANMs, are categorised under essential services and are generally not requisitioned for election duty. In this case, nearly half of the hospital’s administrative staff have been deployed in the West Bengal poll process, said Ramprasad Roy, the college principal. DEO, Hooghly, by start of second week this month, issued requisition notices to 49 doctors at Prafulla Chandra Sen Government Medical College and Hospital in Arambagh, Hooghly district, directing them to serve as presiding officers at polling booths. The list included assistant professors and specialist doctors from key departments. HT has seen the order. Khursheed Ali Qadri, the District Magistrate also serves as the DEO. …