ECI Clashes with West Bengal Government Over Transfer of Electoral Officials
In a significant development highlighting ongoing tensions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a stern directive to the West Bengal government, ordering the immediate cancellation of transfer orders for three Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers who were serving as electoral roll observers. The Commission has emphasized that these transfers were executed without obtaining prior concurrence, thereby violating established electoral protocols.
Formal Communication and Key Directives
ECI Secretary Sujeet Kumar Misra formally communicated this directive in a letter addressed to West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty on Tuesday. The letter explicitly states that the transfer orders must be "cancelled forthwith". Furthermore, it mandates that any future transfer orders concerning officials involved in electoral processes must "get prior ECI concurrence" before issuance.
The officers in question are Smita Pandey, Asvini Kumar Yadav, and Randhir Kumar. The state government had recently transferred these officers, assigning them additional responsibilities. However, the ECI contends that these actions contravene specific instructions outlined in its earlier communications regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls currently underway in West Bengal.
Violation of SIR Protocol
The Commission's letter references its communication dated October 27, 2025, which announced the SIR process. Paragraph 4 of that letter clearly stipulates that during the SIR period, chief secretaries must ensure no official involved in the process is transferred without prior approval from the Commission. The ECI further noted that these IAS officers were formally appointed as Electoral Roll observers on November 28, 2025, and are on deemed deputation to the Commission for the SIR purpose.
"It has come to the Commission’s notice that the Government of West Bengal... has ordered the departmental transfers/posting of these officers," the letter stated, citing specific notification dates in December 2025 and January 2026. "However, the transfers of these officers have been ordered without prior concurrence of the Election Commission, which is violative of the Commission’s instructions."
Compliance Deadline and Broader Context
The ECI has set a strict compliance deadline, demanding that the West Bengal government confirm the cancellation of these orders by 3:00 PM on January 28, 2026. This incident is not an isolated one and adds to a series of confrontations between the central electoral body and the state administration.
Recent points of contention include:
- The Murshidabad district administration's delay in filing an FIR against a TMC MLA in connection with alleged vandalism.
- A previous instance in August where the ECI asked the state to suspend and take legal action against four officials and a contractual employee over allegations of fraudulent voter registrations.
In that prior case, the state government had suspended the casual Data Entry Operator, Surojit Halder, but has yet to file FIRs against the other officers involved. The current directive regarding the IAS officers underscores the ECI's assertive stance in maintaining the integrity and impartiality of electoral machinery, especially during critical revision periods. The standoff highlights the ongoing challenges in federal-administrative relations concerning election management in the state.
