Tension between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Nabanna, the state secretariat, has intensified over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.
The Commission on Tuesday sent a strongly worded letter to the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, alleging that key officials involved in the sensitive exercise were transferred in violation of clear instructions issued earlier.
The Commission stated that its primary objective during the SIR process is to ensure administrative neutrality ahead of the elections. To safeguard this, the Commission had categorically directed that no official associated with the voter list revision could be transferred without its prior approval. According to the Commission, this directive has been “virtually ignored” by the state government.
In its letter, the Commission referred to instructions issued on October 27, 2025, which explicitly barred the transfer of officials engaged in the SIR process without permission from the Commission. The responsibility for implementing these instructions rested with the Chief Secretary of the state.
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The Commission further noted that on November 28, 2025, it appointed twelve Electoral Roll Observers and five Divisional Commissioners for the SIR exercise. These officials were placed on “deemed deputation” to the Election Commission for the duration of the process. Despite this, the West Bengal government issued transfer notifications on December 1, 2025, January 20, 2026, and January 21, 2026, moving three Electoral Roll Observers. The Commission has termed these transfers unjustified and a direct breach of its orders.
The officials who were transferred include Ashwini Kumar Yadav (IAS, WB:2001), responsible for North and South Dinajpur; Randhir Kumar (IAS, WB:2006), overseeing North 24 Parganas and Kolkata North; and Smita Pandey (IAS, WB:2005), in charge of West Bardhaman, East Bardhaman, and Birbhum.
According to the Election Commission, no prior permission was sought before issuing these transfer orders, amounting to a clear violation of the October 27 directive. The Commission has instructed Nabanna to cancel the transfer notifications by 3 PM on Wednesday and to submit a report confirming compliance. It has also cautioned the state government against taking similar steps in the future.
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