Kolkata

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday criticised the Election Commission of India (EC) for reshuffling senior bureaucrats and police officials in West Bengal, calling it a “panic reaction”, while opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) welcomed the move as a step towards free and fair elections.

After announcing the schedule for the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the EC removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar from their posts.

The poll panel said the officers removed would not be given any election-related assignments and that the decision followed a review of poll preparedness in the state.

Addressing a press conference, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged the BJP was using the EC to influence the electoral process.

“Despite backdoor politics, the BJP will fail to weaken the bond between the people of West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” he said.

Ghosh also criticised the removal of the state’s first woman chief secretary, calling it an “arbitrary and undemocratic” move.

He further accused the Centre of withholding more than Rs 1.96 lakh crore of the state’s dues, including funds for schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and Jal Jeevan Mission.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the reshuffle, saying the EC had reinstated officials who were earlier sidelined by the state government.

“These efficient and non-partisan IAS and IPS officers will now ensure smooth, fair and incident-free polls,” he said.

BJP chief whip in the assembly Shankar Ghosh alleged that a section of the state bureaucracy functioned like an extension of the ruling TMC.

“Some IAS, IPS and WBCS officers operate as if they are members of the TMC,” he claimed, adding that the EC’s intervention was necessary to maintain electoral integrity.

Echoing similar sentiments, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said the commission routinely transfers officials during elections but the administrative situation in West Bengal made such action particularly significant this time.

Referring to former DGP Rajeev Kumar, Chakraborty remarked that in the state “an official can take off his uniform and immediately become a Rajya Sabha member of the TMC”.

However, he stressed that the key priority should be ensuring voters can exercise their franchise freely.

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“The most important thing is to ensure that people are able to cast their votes according to their own will,” he said, urging the EC to remain neutral during the election process.