Kolkata, Dec 31 West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Aariz Aftab, retired from services on Tuesday.
However, uncertainty prevails over his successor since the West Bengal government has yet to suggest a panel of names from among the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the state cadre to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
As per rules, the commission will therefore select one name from the panel of IAS officers forwarded to it by the state government.
Sources aware of the development said that it is quite an unprecedented affair that no panel has been forwarded to the commission before the retirement or replacement of the sitting CEO in the state.
It is up to the commission whether they will wait for some time for the state government to send the panel of IAS officers or immediately ask state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to immediately act on the matter.
Aftab, a 1991 batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, had been one of the longest-serving CEOs in West Bengal, having taken over in February 2017. Under his supervision, the state witnessed three major elections, namely the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and 2024 and the state Assembly elections in 2024.
His tenure as the CEO had been more or less free of controversies. In fact, before the general elections earlier this year, his role was highly appreciated as he reportedly cautioned the District Magistrates, district Superintendents of Police and the Police Commissioners that he would not tolerate deterioration of law & order anywhere in the state at any cost.
However, there were initial controversies over his appointment. The first two panels sent by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government then were rejected by the commission. Aftab’s name was picked up by the commission from the third panel.
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