Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in five states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — a fresh administrative face-off has emerged between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the appointment of Central Observers.
On Wednesday, the ECI issued an order appointing 25 senior officers from West Bengal as Central Observers, including 15 IAS and 10 IPS officers. However, the state government on Thursday has formally objected to the inclusion of several top officials, most notably the serving Home Secretary of West Bengal, Jagadish Prasad Meena.
In a letter sent to the Election Commission, Nabanna, the state secretariat, argued that deputing key administrative officers as Central Observers in the crucial pre-election period could adversely affect law and order management and disrupt essential administrative work within the state. Citing these concerns, the state government requested the removal of nine officers, including the Home Secretary, from the Commission’s list.
According to sources in Nabanna, the officers whose names figure in the Commission’s nominated list and have been objected to by the state include Home Secretary Meena, IAS officers Sanjay Bansal, P Mohan Gandhi, Abhinandan Singh, P. B. Salim, Soumitra Mohan, Shubhagyan Das, Rachana Bhagat and P Ulganathan.
Along with its objection, the state government also proposed an alternative panel of nine officers for consideration as Central Observers. The suggested names are Rajiv Kumar, Abhinav Chandra, Niranjan Kumar, Vishwanath, Apala Seth, Tapas Kumar Bagchi, Sasim Kumar Barai, Sonam Bhutia and R Arjun.
Meanwhile, two IPS officers included in the Commission’s original list — Hrishikesh Meena and Bharatlal Meena — have separately appealed to the ECI, citing personal and professional difficulties.
Political observers note that disagreements between the state administration and the Commission ahead of elections are not uncommon. However, analysts point out that it is unusual for the Home Secretary of a poll-bound state to be named as a Central Observer, making the state government’s request for exemption a predictable response.
The ECI, on its part, has maintained that it had sought a list of suitable officers from the West Bengal government on at least five occasions for the appointment of Central Observers. As no response was received within the stipulated timeframe, the Commission finalised the list on its own and issued the order.
However, Nabanna's counter-letter reached the Election Commission within 24 hours of the order being issued and has once again sparked debate in administrative and political circles.
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