EC shuffles senior Bengal officials, including Chief Secretary, hours after announcing poll schedule

The Election Commission said Dushyant Nariala, an IAS of 1993 batch, will be posted as Chief Secretary in the poll-bound Bengal.

Updated on: Mar 16, 2026, 05:48:43 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Election Commission on Sunday ordered immediate transfer of top Bengal officials, including the Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, hours after it announced the schedule for state elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 15 announced the schedule for assembly polls in four states. (File Photo)

The sweeping actions comes after the Election Commission announced the schedule of assembly elections for four states, including West Bengal, and one UT. Bengal goes to polling in two-phases on April 23 and 29, while the counting of votes will be done on May 4.

In the order released late on Sunday, the poll body said Dushyant Nariala, an IAS of 1993 batch, will be posted as Chief Secretary in the poll-bound Bengal. Nariala replaces Nandini Chakravorty who was appointed to the post on December 31, 2025.

Also Read: Election dates for Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry out | Check full schedule

The EC also announced the removal of Jagdish Prasad Meena, a 2004-batch IAS officer, as the Principal Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs in the state government. He will be replaced with Sanghamitra Ghosh, a 1997-batch officer.

The poll body said that the directions will be implemented with immediate effect and a compliance report regarding the joining of the above officers should be sent by 3pm on Monday, March 16.

TMC, BJP react

The Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP in Bengal were quick to react to the poll body's move. While the TMC took a swipe at EC, saying that it can trasfter officers to satisfy its boss, it cannot transfer Mamata from hearts of the people.

Also Read: Why West Bengal voting phases have been reduced to 2 from 8

“EC is only following orders to satisfy its boss. You can transfer officers but cannot transfer Mamata Banerjee from the hearts of the people,” TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty told Hindustan Times.

BJP, on the other hand, said that the Election Commission should ensure that no officials with links to the party should be part of the election machinery in the state.

“Around 250 of our workers and members were killed before, during and after the 2021 assembly polls. We urged ECI to ensure that no officer having links with the ruling party should be part of the election machinery,” Bengal BJP's chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.

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