The Election Commission Gyanesh Kumar, the country’s Chief Election Commissioner, announced the dates for the West Bengal Assembly elections during a press conference held in Delhi on Sunday afternoon. Subsequently, that very night, the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary were transferred.
Gyanesh Kumar — File photo.
The State Director General of Police (DGP) and the Kolkata Police Commissioner were both replaced by the Election Commission late at night, following the announcement of the state’s election dates. Siddhinath Gupta is scheduled to take Piyush Pandey’s place as the state’s new DGP following his removal from the position. He was assigned to the positions of DG and IGP (In-charge) as an IPS officer from the 1992 batch. In addition, Supratim Sarkar has been replaced as Kolkata Police Commissioner by IPS officer Ajay Nanda. Nandini Chakravorty has been removed from the post of Chief Secretary. Dushyant Nariala is being appointed to the position in her place. The Commission has directed them to assume charge by 3:00 PM on Monday.
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Modifications to Several Kolkata Police Positions
Major reshuffle in the state’s police administration by the Commission. (File photo)
The positions of ADG (Law and Order) and DG (Prisons) in the State Police have also undergone changes. During the SIR process, Vineet Goyal, the former ADG, was accused of issuing several residence certificates without adequately reviewing the underlying paperwork. As a result, Ajay Mukund Ranade has been named the new ADG and IGP (Law and Order), and he has been removed from the position. He is an IPS officer from the 1995 batch. Natarajan Ramesh Babu, an IPS officer from the 1991 batch, has been appointed as the DG (Prisons). The Commission dismissed Nandini Chakravorty from her position as State Chief Secretary on Sunday evening. She was replaced by Dushyant Nariala. Jagdish Prasad Meena, the State Home Secretary, was also dismissed. The new Home Secretary is Sanghamitra Ghosh. Additional reorganizations were then revealed on Monday morning.
(Left) The removed State Police DG, Piyush Pandey, and the removed Kolkata Police Commissioner, Supratim Sarkar (right). Graphic: Anandabazar.com.
Orders to put these directives into effect right now have been issued. By Monday at 3:00 PM, the Commission has instructed these officials to submit a compliance report attesting to their assumption of duties. Until the electoral process is over, the officials who have been dismissed from their positions cannot be appointed to any positions relating to elections. To that end, the Election Commission has released a special directive.
About Ajay nanda
The names of Kolkata’s new Police Commissioner, Ajay Nand, were announced in the evening after the Election Commission announced the dates for the state assembly elections. Ajay, the new Police Commissioner of Kolkata, was an IPS officer of the 1996 batch. He was the West Medinipur Superintendent of Police in the past. He was a key player in the anti-Maoist campaign. He also had a stint with the Kolkata Police and was formerly the Commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur. He was previously appointed as the West Bengal STF’s first Inspector General (IG).
West Bengal Election Schedule
This time, West Bengal’s Assembly elections will take place in two stages, an unusual action. Voting will take place for 152 seats in the first phase on April 23 and for 142 seats in the second phase on April 29, according to the Election Commission. On May 4, the election results will be announced. Elections in this state have never been held in just two phases before; the Assembly elections in 2021 took place across eight phases. The majority of political parties had requested a reduction in the number of phases during a meeting with the Commission’s full bench.
The Election Commission further stated…
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar declared the dates of the West Bengal Assembly elections on Sunday afternoon while speaking at a press conference from Delhi. Voting in the state will take place in two stages this time, on April 23 and April 29. The state administration is undergoing a reorganization right after the election announcement.
Notably, a few days ago, the whole bench of the Election Commission traveled to West Bengal and met with senior administrative officials and all of the state’s political parties. ADG (Law and Order) Vineet received a severe reprimand during that meeting. Gyanesh made it very plain that if any carelessness was found, nobody would be spared, not even a Police Commissioner or a District Magistrate. The Chief Election Commissioner reportedly questioned why this state was the only one without a “Narcotics Advisory Committee.” Despite the state government’s assurances that action would be done in this area, the Commission was not satisfied. Gyanesh reprimanded Vineet and told him to take a seat when he stood up to discuss the matter. According to Gyanesh, the Commission had access to all pertinent data. Vineet was fired from his position within seven days after this incident.
Which police officers have been transferred so far in March? Commission seeks report.
The Election Commission has sought a report regarding the transfer of police officials. —File photo.
The Election Commission has written to the State Police once more since the election dates were announced. The Commission has requested a list of police personnel who oversaw police stations during the 2021 post-election violence and during times of instability leading up to, during, and following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Commission had asked the State Police for information on this issue only a few days prior. They have now asked for information about these police officers once more as soon as the state’s elections were announced, but this time the Election Commission has imposed a strict deadline. The deadline for submitting the list is Monday at 4:00 PM.