West Bengal Election Reshuffle: EC Removes DGP and Kolkata Police Commissioner
KOLKATA, MARCH 16: The Election Commission of India intensified its administrative overhaul in West Bengal on Monday by removing Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
This decisive move follows the announcement of the assembly poll schedule and comes just 24 hours after the commission replaced the state’s Chief Secretary and Home Secretary.
In their stead, the poll panel has appointed senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta as the Director General and Inspector General of Police (in-charge), while Ajay Kumar Nand takes over as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police.
The commission issued a strict directive to the West Bengal government to implement these changes immediately, ensuring all removed officials are kept away from election-related duties until the completion of the polls.
The reshuffle extended further into the police hierarchy, with the appointment of Natarajan Ramesh Babu as Director General of Correctional Services and Ajay Mukund Ranade as Additional Director General of Police for Law and Order. These changes follow Sunday’s high-profile removals, where Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty was replaced by Dushyant Nariala, and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena was moved out in favor of Sanghamitra Ghosh.
The scale of these transfers underscores the commission’s intent to ensure a neutral administrative environment as the state prepares for a two-phase election on April 23 and April 29.
The Election Commission’s “midnight” restructuring has sparked a significant political backlash from the ruling Trinamool Congress. Party members, led by Derek O’Brien, staged a day-long walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Monday, condemning the removal of top bureaucrats and questioning the timing of the decisions.
In response to the protests, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the commission, reminding the house that the poll panel is an independent constitutional authority whose decisions should not be challenged in Parliament.
With counting scheduled for May 4, the administrative landscape of West Bengal remains in flux as the new leadership takes charge.