Ahead of the upcoming Bengal Assembly Elections, a new development has surfaced involving the Bengal government and the Election Commission of India. On Thursday, the West Bengal government wrote to the poll panel, seeking changes in the list of central observers. The letter also proposed alternative names for nine of the 15 IAS officers who have been shortlisted by the Commission as central observers.
Also Read | West Bengal government reshuffles top cop posts: Who is the new Police Commissioner of Kolkata?
State seeks changes to observer panel
The Election Commission had recently released a list containing names of 25 senior officers from West Bengal for deployment as central observers for the upcoming Assembly elections in five states, such as West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The list includes 15 IAS officers and 10 IPS officers.
According to a Deccan Herald report, a senior state official stated that the request has been made based on "administrative and official requirements". The state’s Home Secretary is among the officers for whom the state has proposed replacements.
Apart from the Home Secretary, Police Commissioners of Howrah and Asansol have also been chosen by the ECI. The government has formally forwarded the alternative names, and the matter now rests with the Election Commission to examine the proposal and take a final call.
Also Read | ‘Logical discrepancy list’ released overnight, but when will voters receive it?
ECI guidelines and response
Along with releasing the list, the poll panel also issued detailed guidelines. These include mandatory briefing sessions for all empanelled IAS and IPS officers before they take on their election-related responsibilities. As the election process draws closer, how the Commission responds to the state’s latest request will be closely watched.
As per the Deccan Herald report, an ECI official stated that, earlier the Commission had stated that it had approached the state government several times, seeking names of officers for central observer duties. He went on saying, "As no response was received within the stipulated timeframe, the Commission finalised and published the list on its own."
