The political atmosphere in West Bengal is heating up even before the election schedule is announced, as the state government’s tussle with the Election Commission of India (ECI) takes an early turn. The controversy escalated on Tuesday when the ECI summoned Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to Delhi asking him to appear in the Commission’s office by Wednesday afternoon.
The summons follows the state government’s failure to comply with the ECI’s recommendations to suspend five officials accused of irregularities in election work.
According to sources at Nabanna, the state secretariat, Pant will appear before the Commission at 5 pm on Wednesday, as directed, in a move seen as an effort to avoid open confrontation.
The Commission had directed the suspension of four officers — ERO Debottam Dutta Chowdhury and AERO Tathagata Mandal of Baruipur East Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas and ERO Biplob Sarkar and AERO Sudipta Das of Maina constituency in East Midnapore — along with an FIR against Surjit Halder, a casual data entry operator involved in Form-6 processing.
Also read: Bengal govt rolls back suspension for 2 out of 4 poll officers
However, in a letter to State Chief Election Officer Manoj Agarwal on Monday, Pant stated that while suspensions had not been carried out, two officials — AERO Das and data entry operator Halder — had been removed from election duties. He explained that district and block-level officers often juggle multiple administrative responsibilities, with certain tasks delegated to trusted subordinates.
Suspending long-serving officers without a full investigation, he argued, could demoralise the administrative machinery.
Pant assured the Commission that an internal probe was underway and that a detailed report would be submitted upon its completion. For now, the two WBCS executive officers (EROs) named in the suspension order remain in their posts.
Sources within the state government described Nabanna’s approach as a calculated balancing act. While the Mamata Banerjee-led government has historically clashed with the ECI — often sending strongly worded letters or ignoring directives — the prompt compliance with the summons marks a softer tone. A section of the ruling party believes it is wiser to avoid excessive administrative confrontation while still maintaining political messaging in the ongoing Centre-State conflict.
Mamata had earlier addressed a rally in Jhargram saying that no officer would be suspended over the issue, a stance reportedly aimed at preventing resentment among bureaucrats. Sources suggest that the ongoing probe could delay decisive action, effectively putting the matter in limbo.
“It remains to be seen whether the ECI will accept this partial compliance or respond with a renewed directive,” said an official at Nabanna.
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