As if the ongoing state assembly elections in West Bengal were falling short of controversies, a new row erupted over the Election Commission's deployment of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma, popularly known as Uttar Pradesh's ‘encounter specialist’, as police observer for South 24 Parganas district.
Sharma's deployment comes ahead of second round of voting in West Bengal on Wednesday, April 29, leading to a major row between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
While the BJP and the ECI said that Sharma has been deployed to ensure “free and fair voting” in the state, the Trinamool Congress and also Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP is trying to tilt the vote in their favour by "deploying agents" to intimidate voters.
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Who is Ajay Pal Sharma?
Ajay Pal Sharma is a 2011 batch IPS officer of UP's cadre, currently posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) in Prayagraj.
He was born in October 1985 in Punjab's Ludhiana and is known for his tough policing style. Before becoming an IPS officer, Sharma was a dentist.
{{/usCountry}}He was born in October 1985 in Punjab's Ludhiana and is known for his tough policing style. Before becoming an IPS officer, Sharma was a dentist.
{{/usCountry}}Also read: West Bengal polls: 1,468 voters get SC tribunal clearance for second phase voting
Sharma's role in several key security operation during his several postings across Uttar Pradesh earned him the reputation of “encounter specialist”.
After Sharma's deployment, BJP's Amit Malviya referred to him as ‘Singham’ of UP Police and shared a video of him warning TMC candidate's Jehangir Khan's supporters against intimidating voters. The video is in wide circulation on social media.
“He wasted no time in setting the tone, firmly reading the riot act to the family members of Abhishek Banerjee’s close aide, Jehangir Khan,” Malviya wrote on X.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Mahua Moitra also did not shy away from throwing punches, sharing Sharma's video and warning him to “dial back the heroism a bit”.
She also shared other videos of Sharma with dancers on her X account, clarifying that these were real and not AI-generated.
In another post, Moitra tagged Sharma and wrote, “hope your policing skills are better than your dancing skills”.
BJP's West Bengal unit, on the other hand, backed Sharma said that he just “read the riot act to Bhaipo’s henchman Jehangir Khan’s family members.”
“Nobody can stop this election from being the most free and fair election in 50 years and anyone who dares to act oversmart will be taught a lesson,” it added.