EC tightens grip on WB polls with strategic officer transfers

The Election Commission on Wednesday intensified preparations for the West Bengal Assembly elections, ordering a fresh reshuffle of senior officers, posting two secretaries to other poll-bound states as observers, and deploying 13 IAS and five IPS officers in key poll management roles, an official said.
Priyanka Shingla, special secretary of the civil defence and disaster management department, and P Mohan Gandhi, secretary of industries, commerce and enterprises, were sent to other states as election observers, he said.
In a parallel order, 13 IAS officers were appointed district magistrates (DMs), who will also serve as district election officers (DEOs), placing them at the centre of poll supervision.
Officers Jitin Yadav (Cooch Behar), Sandeep Ghosh (Jalpaiguri), Vivek Kumar (Uttar Dinajpur), Rajanvir Singh Kapur (Malda) and R Arjun (Murshidabad) have been posted as DMs-cum-DEOs.
Similarly, Srikant Palli has been appointed as DM-cum-DEO of Nadia, Sweta Agarwal in Purba Bardhaman, Shilpa Gorisaria in North 24 Parganas, Abhishek Kumar Tiwary in South 24 Parganas, Harishankar Panicker in Darjeeling and T Balasubramanian in Alipurduar.
“These officers will play a crucial role in ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. Many will also function in observer capacities to closely monitor poll preparedness and conduct at the district level,” a senior officer of the Election Commission said.
The reshuffle follows earlier changes after the election schedule was announced, including the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and the removal of DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
Polling for the 294-member assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. PTI SCH ACD MNB