The Election Commission of India (ECI) has removed four key officials from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office in West Bengal. Among those removed is Subrata Pal, a Deputy CEO and a West Bengal Civil Service officer of the 2005 batch, who has been transferred to the Health and Family Welfare Department. Additionally, two Additional Secretaries, Narendra Nath Dutta and Supriya Das, along with Joint Secretary Mithu Sarkar, have also been transferred.
No replacements for the removed officials have been announced yet. Rahul Nath, an officer of the 2001 batch, previously an Additional Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department, has been appointed as the Joint CEO of West Bengal. Dutta, Das, and Sarkar have been reassigned to the state Labour Department, Food Processing Industries & Horticulture Department, and Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education Department, respectively.
According to insiders, these removals were carried out based on the CEO’s recommendations, Manoj Kumar Agarwal. Despite the ongoing election process and the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the ECI has been transferring various bureaucrats and police officers across different administrative levels. Notably, this marks the first instance of such transfers and replacements affecting the CEO’s office.
The CEO’s office has witnessed legal challenges with two public interest litigations filed in the Calcutta High Court against the transfers, replacements, and deputations of officials from West Bengal to other states ahead of the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections next month.
