KOLKATA: Hours after the new BJP Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, took oath at the historic Brigade Parade Grounds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J. P. Nadda on Saturday, Dr Subrata Gupta, Special Roll Observer (SRO) appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, was appointed as the Chief Minister’s advisor this evening.
According to sources at the state secretariat, Nabanna, Manoj Agarwal, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), who was in charge of the SIR exercise and the conduct of the high-voltage Assembly elections in Bengal, is also likely to be appointed Chief Secretary (CS) of the state.
Bengal, one of the most electorally sensitive states in the country in terms of election-related violence, witnessed, for the first time, free and fair elections without reports of violence, rigging, bogus voting or booth capturing during this election, under the competent supervision of the two senior bureaucrats from the 1990 batch, and with heavy deployment of Central forces following the Commission’s directives.
Sources said that with the appointment of Gupta and Agarwal, the new government aims to ensure transparent administration in the state.
Gupta, a retired IAS officer and former Secretary in the Union Ministry of Food Processing in Delhi, was given charge of the SRO by the national poll body, considering his distinguished track record as an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and a management graduate from the University of Birmingham in the UK. However, he was later shunted to a less important department despite being a senior officer of Additional Chief Secretary rank and was allegedly sidelined by the previous Mamata Banerjee government.
Sources in the state bureaucracy feel that the development involving the accommodation of the two senior officers in key administrative posts follows the successful conduct of what has widely been described as a free, fair and peaceful Assembly election in Bengal.
A 1990-batch IAS officer and alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Agarwal is regarded as one of the most experienced bureaucrats in the state administration. Although several officers from his batch, including Vivek Kumar, Hridesh Mohan and Vivek Bharadwaj, remain in service, administrative circles suggest that Agarwal has emerged as the frontrunner for the top bureaucratic post owing to his performance in handling key responsibilities over the years.
Sources said his stewardship of the CEO’s office during the recently concluded Assembly elections significantly strengthened his credentials. The Election Commission’s confidence in the smooth and orderly conduct of polling under his leadership is believed to have played a major role in elevating his stature within the bureaucracy.
Despite being one of the senior-most IAS officers in the state, Agarwal was earlier overlooked for the post of Chief Secretary, a decision that reportedly caused disappointment within sections of the administrative fraternity close to him. The current CEO is scheduled to retire on 31 July this year. Before that, he may be appointed Chief Secretary for an initial tenure of around two and a half months, with the possibility of an extension if required.
