The Election Commission of India (ECI) has chosen two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from the West Bengal cadre, both serving as departmental secretaries, to act as central observers in other states. One of them is Priyanka Singla, a 2012-batch IAS officer currently working as Special Secretary in the state Civil Defence and Disaster Management Department. The other officer, P. Mohangandhi, a 2004-batch IAS officer, holds the position of Secretary in the state Commerce and Industries Department.
Earlier, the ECI had also named Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary Antara Acharya and Food Processing Secretary Parvez Ahmed Siddique as central observers for other states. However, Siddique and Acharya requested the ECI to reconsider the decision due to heavy administrative responsibilities in their departments.
On March 17, the ECI removed Jagdish Prasad Meena, the then West Bengal Home Secretary, from his position and reassigned him as a central poll observer in Tamil Nadu following the announcement of the two-phase polls in West Bengal. The Commission also replaced the then West Bengal Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakrabarty, and prohibited her from participating in the state’s election process.
In response to these changes, Dushyant Nariala took over from Chakrabarty, while Shanghamitra Ghosh replaced Meena. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the removal of Chakrabarty and Meena, expressing her objections in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The upcoming two-phase elections in West Bengal are scheduled for April 23 and April 29, with results expected on May 4.
