The reshuffle spans across multiple districts, with the ECI replacing key administrative heads and appointing new District Magistrates-cum-District Election Officers.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (file photo)
After the Election Commission of India removed the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Commissioner of Kolkata Police and the top layer of police administration, the poll body has now removed 12 District Magistrates and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Commissioner in a fresh round of administrative reshuffle ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election.
In a notification issued on 18 March, the commission directed the immediate transfer and posting of senior IAS officers as District Magistrates-cum-District Election Officers (DEOs) across key districts, signalling a continued effort to tighten administrative neutrality in poll-bound West Bengal.
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The reshuffle spans across multiple districts, with the ECI replacing key administrative heads and appointing new District Magistrates-cum-District Election Officers.
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In Cooch Behar, Raju Mishra has been removed and Jitin Yadav appointed in his place, while in Jalpaiguri, Ravi Prakash Meena has been replaced by Sandeep Ghosh.
Uttar Dinajpur has also seen a change, with Surendra Kumar Meena making way for Vivek Kumar.
Similar changes have been affected in Malda and Murshidabad, where Preeti Goya and Nitin Singhania have been replaced by Rajanvir Singh Kapur and R Arjun respectively.
In Nadia, Nikhil Nirmal has been removed and Srikant Palli has been brought in, while in Purba Bardhaman, Ayesha Rani has been replaced by Sweta Agarwal.
The commission has also reshuffled leadership in the two 24-Parganas districts, appointing Shilpa Gourisaria in North 24-Parganas in place of Shashank Sethi, and Abhishek Kumar Tiwary in South 24-Parganas, replacing Arvind Kumar Mina.
In the northern hill district of Darjeeling, Sunil Agarwal has been replaced by Harishanker Panicker, while in Alipurduar, R Vimla has been removed and T Balasubramanian has been posted as the new District Magistrate-cum-DEO.
In Kolkata, KMC Commissioner Anshul Gupta has been replaced by Smita Pandey, who will also serve as the District Election Officer for Kolkata North, while Randhir Kumar has been appointed as DEO for Kolkata South.
The commission has instructed that the newly-appointed officers take charge with immediate effect and submit a compliance report by 3 p.m. on Thursday.
It has also made it clear that officers who have been transferred out will not be assigned any election-related duties until the completion of the electoral process.
The sweeping changes come amid heightened scrutiny of the state administration, with the ECI taking a series of stringent measures to ensure free and fair elections in West Bengal.
The back-to-back removal of top bureaucrats and police officials indicates the commission’s assertive stance in maintaining neutrality and strengthening poll preparedness across the state.
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