CM writes to CEC, opposes transfer of Bengal Chief Secy & top officials

Kolkata: Voicing strong objections to the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to transfer five top officials of the state administration within less than 24 hours of the announcement of the 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, describing the move as “unilateral” and “unprecedented”. In the letter, Banerjee urged the CEC to refrain from taking such unilateral steps in the future, reiterating that decisions of this nature “impinge upon the foundation principles of our constitutional framework”. She claimed that such a move could undermine the Election Commission’s long-standing credibility and institutional dignity.

The Chief Minister stated that through directives issued on March 15 and 16, the Commission had transferred several senior officials of the state administration, including the Chief Secretary, the Secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs Department, as well as top police officials such as the Director General of Police and an Inspector General of Police.

Banerjee alleged that such a large-scale administrative reshuffle had been carried out without citing any specific reason.

She pointed out that no allegations of irregularities, misconduct or negligence in the conduct of election-related duties had been raised against the concerned officers, yet the decision to transfer them had been taken.

Referring to Article 324 of the Constitution of India and various provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Chief Minister noted that government officials engaged in election duties are deemed to be under the control of the Election Commission during the poll period and that the Commission has the authority to transfer or post them.

However, she said that in the past, the Commission generally took such decisions after consultations with the state government.

Banerjee further stated that, according to established practice, the Commission would usually ask the state government to send a panel of three officers, from

which it would select one to fill the vacancy.

“This (transfers) has been done in an arbitrary manner without seeking a panel of officers from the state government and without adhering to the established

convention that has guided ECI–State institutional functioning during previous elections,” Banerjee wrote.

She alleged that the move by the apex poll body “undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and principles of our democratic polity, which form a basic feature of our Constitutional governance.”