New Delhi

Officials of the Election Commission of India on Monday said the reshuffle of senior civil and police officials in West Bengal was in line with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s assurance of conducting violence-free and peaceful elections in the state.

The poll panel recently removed several top officials, including Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.

The EC also directed the state government that the transferred officials should not be assigned any election-related duty.

Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes on May 4.

“In line with the objective of ensuring peaceful polls, the EC appoints and transfers senior police officials, including the DGP and Kolkata police commissioner,” an EC functionary said.

During a press conference on Sunday, Gyanesh Kumar had assured that the upcoming elections in West Bengal would be conducted in a violence-free manner.

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The reshuffle has triggered political reactions, with the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) describing the move as a “panic reaction”, while opposition parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) welcomed it as a step towards free and fair elections.