Kolkata, Oct 1 With the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) likely to take place in West Bengal immediately at the end of this month, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has a new Additional CEO and Joint CEO.
Arun Prasad, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 2011 batch of the West Bengal cadre, has been appointed as the new Additional CEO of the state.
Panicker Harishankar, an IAS officer of the 2013 batch, has been appointed as the Joint CEO.
An insider from the CEO’s office stated that the current CEO, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, has received confirmation from the ECI’s headquarters in Delhi regarding the appointment of Prasad and Harishankar as the new Additional CEO and Joint CEO of West Bengal, respectively.
However, despite the clearance of the two crucial appointments, uncertainties continue over the appointment of the deputy CEO. The ECI had directed the CEO’s office in West Bengal to seek three new names for the post of Deputy CEO, for selecting one of them for that position.
As per the communication sent from the ECI office, the state government should send the names of three bureaucrats who have prior experience of handling election-related duties. Generally, officers from the state, i.e., West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) cadre, are considered for the post of Deputy CEO.
The process of SIR in West Bengal is riddled with political controversies, especially amid strong opposition from the ruling Trinamool Congress to the exercise. According to the state's ruling party leadership, the SIR is an "indirect ploy" by the BJP and the Union government to slap the NRC in the state.
On the other hand, the BJP has claimed that Trinamool Congress is deliberately opposing the SIR in the state to ensure that the names of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators are not deleted from the voters’ list.
The last time the SIR was conducted in West Bengal was in 2022.
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