Congress lambasts BJP, ECI over high-profile appointments in Bengal
New Delhi: The Congress party has launched a stinging critique against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) following high-profile administrative appointments in West Bengal.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh expressed strong disapproval over the recent elevation of officials who played central roles in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
The controversy centres on the appointment of Manoj Agarwal, an Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1990 batch, as the new Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal.
Agarwal previously served as the Chief Election Officer, a role in which he was responsible for overseeing the conduct of the Assembly polls.
In a similar move that has drawn fire from the opposition, Subrata Gupta, also a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, has been appointed as the Chief Adviser to the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari.
Gupta had served as the Special Roll Observer during the election period, a position that involved oversight of electoral rolls and the deletion of names from the voting registry.
Ramesh argued that these appointments serve as undeniable evidence of collusion between the Election Commission and the ruling BJP.
He suggested that the transition of these individuals from supposedly neutral election oversight roles into top-tier positions within the state government indicates that their prior actions were intended to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Congress leader further alleged that the electoral process was compromised, claiming that approximately 27 lakh people were debarred from voting during the state elections.
He characterised this as a tactfully executed manoeuvre designed to create a specific electoral advantage for the BJP.
According to the Congress, the timing and nature of these rewards prove that the Election Commission failed to maintain its impartiality.
Ramesh noted that there is no longer even an attempt to keep such associations discreet, describing the situation as “brazen connivance” that undermines democratic integrity.